Find X in a Right Triangle: Given Area 8.375 and Height 2.5

Question

Calculate X using the data in the figure below.

A=8.375A=8.375A=8.375XXX2.52.52.5AAABBBCCC

Video Solution

Solution Steps

00:00 Determine the value of X
00:03 Apply the formula for calculating the area of a triangle
00:06 (base x height) divided by 2
00:09 Substitute in the relevant values according to the given data and proceed to solve for X
00:12 Isolate X
00:21 This is the solution

Step-by-Step Solution

To solve this problem, let's follow these steps:

  • Step 1: Identify the given information: The area A=8.375 A = 8.375 , one side a=X a = X , and the other side b=2.5 b = 2.5 .
  • Step 2: Utilize the formula for the area of a right triangle, A=12×base×height A = \frac{1}{2} \times \text{base} \times \text{height} .
  • Step 3: Plug in the known values to the formula and solve for X X .

Detailed solution:

We have the area formula for a right triangle:

A=12×X×2.5 A = \frac{1}{2} \times X \times 2.5

Substitute the given area value:

8.375=12×X×2.5 8.375 = \frac{1}{2} \times X \times 2.5

Let's rearrange this equation to solve for X X :

X=8.375×22.5 X = \frac{8.375 \times 2}{2.5}

Calculate:

X=16.752.5=6.7 X = \frac{16.75}{2.5} = 6.7

Therefore, the length of side X X is 6.7\mathbf{6.7}.

This corresponds to choice 2: 6.7

Answer

6.7