Solve for X: Triangular Lengths in an Isosceles Right Triangle with Area 12.5 cm²

Question

In front of you is an isosceles right triangle.

The expressions listed next to the sides describe their length.

( x>-5 length measurements in cm).

Since the area of the triangle is 12.5.

Find the lengths of the sides of the triangle.

12.512.512.5x+5x+5x+5

Video Solution

Solution Steps

00:00 Find the triangle side lengths
00:03 We'll use the formula for calculating triangle area
00:07 (height multiplied by side) divided by 2
00:15 Equal sides according to the given data
00:25 We'll substitute appropriate values according to the given data
00:38 We'll multiply by the denominator to eliminate the fraction
00:43 We'll extract the root, remember that when extracting a root we have 2 solutions
00:47 One positive and one negative
00:51 We'll isolate the unknown and find the solution for each possibility
00:54 This is one solution
00:58 This is the second solution, but doesn't fit the domain
01:01 We'll substitute the solution to find the sides
01:06 And this is the answer to the question

Step-by-Step Solution

The problem involves finding the side lengths of an isosceles right triangle given its area. Let's proceed with the solution.

Since the triangle is an isosceles right triangle, the two legs are equal, and the area AA is provided by the formula: A=12baseheight A = \frac{1}{2} \cdot \text{base} \cdot \text{height} For this triangle, both the base and the height are x+5x + 5.

The area is given as 12.5, so we set up the equation: 12.5=12(x+5)(x+5) 12.5 = \frac{1}{2} \cdot (x + 5) \cdot (x + 5) 12.5=12(x+5)2 12.5 = \frac{1}{2} \cdot (x + 5)^2

Multiply both sides by 2 to solve for (x+5)2(x + 5)^2: 25=(x+5)2 25 = (x + 5)^2

Take the square root of both sides: x+5=25 x + 5 = \sqrt{25} x+5=5 x + 5 = 5

Solve for xx: x=55 x = 5 - 5 x=0 x = 0

Therefore, the length of each leg of the triangle is x+5=5x + 5 = 5 cm.

For the hypotenuse cc, use the Pythagorean theorem c2=a2+a2c^2 = a^2 + a^2, where a=x+5=5a = x + 5 = 5: c2=52+52=25+25=50 c^2 = 5^2 + 5^2 = 25 + 25 = 50 c=50=52 c = \sqrt{50} = 5\sqrt{2}

Thus, the lengths of the sides of the triangle are 55, 55, and 525\sqrt{2}.

Therefore, the correct solution is 5,5,52 5, 5, 5\sqrt{2} .

Answer

5,5,52 5,5,5\sqrt{2}