Similar Triangles: Finding Side Length When Area Ratio is 1:16 and Larger Side is 42cm

Question

If the ratio of the areas of similar triangles is 1:16, and the length of the side of the larger triangle is 42 cm, what is the length of the corresponding side in the smaller triangle?

Video Solution

Solution Steps

00:00 Find the length of the appropriate side in the small triangle
00:03 Let's mark the side with X
00:06 Find the similarity ratio
00:10 The similarity ratio equals the square root of the area ratio
00:14 Make sure to take the square root of both numerator and denominator
00:25 Isolate X
00:36 And this is the solution to the question

Step-by-Step Solution

The ratio of similarity is 1:4

The length of the corresponding side in the small triangle is:

424=6 \frac{42}{4}=6

Answer

10.5

More Questions

Related Subjects

Similarity ratio Similarity of Triangles and Polygons

Question Types

The Ratio of Similarity: Identifying and defining elements