A farmer's field is shaped like the trapezoid below.

Question

The blue line segment is a path that connects the parallel sides and intersects them on right angles. How long is the path if the parallel sides of the field measure 80 and 100 meters and the area of the field is 3600 square meters?

Answer 1

You can use the formula for area of trapezoid to deduce this.

 

A = (average base)(height).

 

In this case, average base is 90 m; 3600 = 90(height).  Therefore height = 40 meters.