LearnFromHome Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 I would really appreciate if someone can help me explain this problem to my 6th grader. Two triangles are similar. On one triangle, the sides are 4, 5, and 6 units long. The second triangle has sides 8, 10 and x. Use proportions to find x. Thank you in advance. Judy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Two triangles are similar. On one triangle, the sides are 4, 5, and 6 units long. The second triangle has sides 8, 10 and x. Use proportions to find x. 8 is twice as much as 4. 10 is twice as much as 5. What is twice as much as 6? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenneinCA Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 If the triangles are similar then the sides of the triangles are related to each other as ratios. You know the angles are the same because they are similar, now you set up the equation and solve. In your example: Triangle A Side 1/ Triangle A Side 2 = Triangle B Side 1/Triangle B side 2 4/6 = 8/x (The side that is 4 units corresponds to the side that is 8 units. The side that is 6 units corresponds to the side that is x units.) Then you solve for x. Cross Multiply and get 4(x) = 6(8) 4x = 48 divide both sides by 4 and get x=12 Now you know the missing length is 12, which makes sense because all the sides in Triangle B are twice as long as the sides in Triangle A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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