I really need help with this:

Question

If the base of a triangle is represented by the expression 8x – 4, and the height of the

triangle is represented by the expression 3x²+ 2x -1, write a polynomial function in standard

form that represents the area of the triangle:

Answer 1

Hi,

As you know the meaning area of triangle is :

Area = 1/2 height * base

Area = 1/2 (3x²+ 2x -1) (8x – 4)

Area = 1/2 ( 24 x^3 +4 x^2 -16 x + 4) after taking common factor of all coefficients and simplify you will have

Area = 12 x^3 +2 x^2 -8 x + 2

I hope it was useful,

Minoo

Answer 2

For a triangle,

Area = base×height/2

Just expand

f(x) = (1/2)(8x-4)(3x²+2x+1)

and make sure the resulting polynomial is in the form:

f(x) = a_nxⁿ+a_n-1x^n-1+...a₁x+a₀

For this case, n=3.