The perimeter of the trapezoid below is 30 cm. Calculate the length of the missing side.
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The perimeter of the trapezoid below is 30 cm. Calculate the length of the missing side.
To solve this problem, we'll follow these steps:
Now, let’s work through each step:
Step 1: The problem gives us a trapezoid with a perimeter of 30 cm and known side lengths of 8 cm, 4 cm, and 12 cm.
We let the missing side be cm.
Step 2: Use the perimeter formula for a trapezoid:
Step 3: Combine the known side lengths:
Solve for :
Therefore, the length of the missing side is 6 cm.
6 cm
Given the trapezoid:
What is the area?
The perimeter is the total distance around the outside of a shape. For any polygon, you add up all the side lengths to get the perimeter.
Look for the side that doesn't have a number label! In this trapezoid, three sides are labeled (8, 4, and 12), so the fourth unlabeled side is what we need to find.
Yes! You can think of it as: What number plus 8 + 4 + 12 equals 30? But setting up the equation helps you organize your work clearly.
Always check if your answer is reasonable! If you got a negative number or a very large number, double-check your arithmetic. Side lengths should always be positive.
No! For perimeter problems, the shape doesn't matter - you just need to add all the sides. Whether it's isosceles, right, or scalene trapezoid, the method stays the same.
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