A triangle with area 40 square inches has a height that is four less than six times the width. Find the width and height of the triangle.

Answer 1

Since a triangle is a quadrilateral divided in half, a triangle's Area will be half that of the Area of a quadrilateral. The formula for the Area of a triangle is 1/2 of w x h, or the w x h divided by 2. Since the Area is 40 sq inches, the width times the height must equal 80 before it is divided in half to equal the Area of 40. The possible factor pairs for 80 are (8,10), (4,20), (5,16). If the width is 4 less than 6 times the width, then the only factor pair that works is (4,20) The width is 4 inches and the height is 20 inches because the height of 20 inches is 4 less than 6 times the width of 4.