Geometric Fitting Problem: 3.5-Unit Triangle in 7-Unit Square

Question

How many times does the triangle fit completely inside of the square?

3.53.53.53.53.53.5777

Video Solution

Solution Steps

00:00 Determine how many times the triangle can fit into the square
00:04 Place the midpoint on each side
00:10 Each side equals 7 so half of this is 3.5
00:22 Connect each midpoint to its nearest neighbor
00:25 We observe 4 triangles, 1 in each corner
00:30 Draw a line from the middle of one side to the middle of its parallel side
00:38 Do the same thing with the second pair of sides
00:43 Maintain the central intersection point so that everything is 3.5
00:47 Divide the center of the square into triangles
00:50 Count the triangles
00:54 That's the solution

Step-by-Step Solution

To solve this problem, we will find how many times a triangle can fit inside a square based on given dimensions:

  • Step 1: Compute the area of the larger square.
  • Step 2: Compute the area of the smaller square (side: 3.53.5) which forms the base and height of the triangle.
  • Step 3: Compute the area of the triangle using the area of the smaller square.
  • Step 4: Divide the area of the larger square by the area of the triangle to find how many triangles fit.

Now, let's proceed with these calculations:
Step 1: Area of the large square = 7×7=497 \times 7 = 49.
Step 2: Area of the smaller square = 3.5×3.5=12.253.5 \times 3.5 = 12.25.
Step 3: Since the triangle fits perfectly within this square, and is a right isosceles triangle, its area = 12×3.5×3.5=6.125\frac{1}{2} \times 3.5 \times 3.5 = 6.125.
Step 4: Dividing the area of the large square by the area of the triangle: 496.1258 \frac{49}{6.125} \approx 8.

Therefore, the large square can completely fit exactly 8 triangles inside it.

Answer

8