if the area of a triangle is 40 square meters and its base is 10 meters, how tall is the triangle?

Question

if the area of a triangle is 40 square meters and its base is 10 meters, how tall is the triangle?

Answer 1

Hello Camila,

Okay, in order to solve our problem, we want to know the equation or formula for determining the area of a triangle.

That formula is A = 1/2 b*h

Second, we want to substitute the known information. You are given the area, and the base. So, let's substitute those values next, okay? Therefore:

A = 1/2 b*h

40 = 1/2 (10) * h <-----------You can see we know the area and the base but not the height.

40 = 5h <-----------This step allows us to multiply the 1/2 by the base leaving you the next.....

8 = h <------------Divide both sides of our equation by 5 leaving h to itself.

Third, we always want to check our work, right? To do so, we want to use the original equation and plug all values into the equation to ensure the left side of the equation equals the right, fair enough?

40 = 1/2 (10) 8

40 = (5)8

40 = 40

The solution checks out and is therefore valid.

I hope this assists and that you have a great ending to your week. If you wish, please leave any feedback, further questions, or requests for clarity by clicking the add comment button and leaving the information directly beneath this solution. If you are in need of one-on-one tutoring, please feel free to reach out to me or any tutor.