A rectangle is drawn so the width is 4 inches longer than the height. If the rectangle's diagonal measurement is 20 inches, find the height.

Question

A rectangle is drawn so the width is 4 inches longer than the height. If the rectangle's diagonal measurement is 20 inches, find the height.

Answer 1

Let W be the width

 

Let W- 4 be the height

 

W² +(W-4)² = 400

 

So: W² -4W-192 =0

 

One uses the quadratic solution:

 

W = (4 + (16 + 4*192)^.5)/2 = 16

 

So the height is 12