A right triangle has a base of x-2 and a height of 2x+4 What is the area of the triangle?

Answer 1

I recommend that students save time when possible, and that often entails clearing of fractions. Therefore, first process the 1/2 with (2x + 4) to get x + 2. So the area is (x - 2)(x + 2), which should be recognized as the difference of 2 squares, giving x² - 4.

Answer 2

The formula for area of a triangle is (1/2)bh. b is the base and h is the height.

A = (1/2)(x-2)(2x+4)

FOIL first and then distribute the (1/2)

A = (1/2)(2x² + 4x -4x -8)

A = (1/2)(2x² - 8)

A = x² - 4