Calculate Trapezoid Side Length: Given Area 120 and Height 10

Question

Given the trapeze in front of you:

AAABBBCCCDDD1112010

Given h=10, AB=11.

Since the area of the trapezoid ABCD is equal to 120.

Find the length of the side DC.

Video Solution

Solution Steps

00:00 Find DC
00:03 We'll use the formula for calculating trapezoid area
00:07 (Sum of bases(AB+DC) multiplied by height(H)) divided by 2
00:14 Let's substitute appropriate values and solve for DC
00:30 Divide 10 by 2
00:36 Isolate DC
00:53 And this is the solution to the question

Step-by-Step Solution

To solve this problem, we will follow these steps:

  • Step 1: Identify the given information from the problem statement.
  • Step 2: Use the formula for the area of a trapezoid.
  • Step 3: Plug in the values and solve for the unknown base DC DC .

Let's apply these steps:

Step 1: You're given:

  • The height h=10 h = 10 .
  • The base AB=11 AB = 11 .
  • The area of the trapezoid =120 = 120 .

Step 2: The formula for the area of a trapezoid is:

Area=12×(b1+b2)×h \text{Area} = \frac{1}{2} \times (b_1 + b_2) \times h

We know b1=AB=11 b_1 = AB = 11 , b2=DC b_2 = DC , h=10 h = 10 , and Area=120 \text{Area} = 120 .

Step 3: Substitute the known values into the formula and solve for DC DC :

120=12×(11+DC)×10 120 = \frac{1}{2} \times (11 + DC) \times 10

Simplify the equation:

120=5×(11+DC) 120 = 5 \times (11 + DC)

Divide both sides by 5 to solve for 11+DC 11 + DC :

24=11+DC 24 = 11 + DC

Subtract 11 from both sides:

DC=2411 DC = 24 - 11

Therefore, DC=13 DC = 13 .

Thus, the length of side DC DC is 13 13 .

Answer

13