Question

An isosceles triangle has a base of 20 cm and legs measuring 36 cm. How long are the legs of a similar triangle with base measuring 50 cm?

Answer 1

`90` centimeters

Explanation:

Because both triangles are similar, we have:

`b_1/l_1=b_2/l_2`

where:

• `b_1,b_2` are the bases of the first and second triangle, respectively

• `l_1,l_2` are the legs of the first and second triangle, respectively

So, we get:

`(20 \ "cm")/(36 \ "cm")=(50 \ "cm")/l_2`

`l_2=(36color(red)cancelcolor(black)"cm")/(20color(red)cancelcolor(black)"cm")*50 \ "cm"`

`=1.8*50 \ "cm"`

`=90 \ "cm"`