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The two equilateral triangles below are similar (but not drawn to scale). What is the scale factor? Click Here for Help Video

31.85
31.85 inches

49
49 inches


The scale factor to go from the triangle on the right to the triangle on the left is
.

1 answer

To find the scale factor from the triangle on the right to the triangle on the left, you can use the formula for the scale factor, which is the ratio of the lengths of corresponding sides of the two triangles.

Here, the length of a side of the triangle on the left is 31.85 inches, and the length of a side of the triangle on the right is 49 inches.

The scale factor \( k \) can be calculated using the following formula:

\[ k = \frac{\text{length of side on the left}}{\text{length of side on the right}} \]

Plugging in the values:

\[ k = \frac{31.85}{49} \]

Calculating this gives:

\[ k \approx 0.649 \]

Thus, the scale factor to go from the triangle on the right to the triangle on the left is approximately 0.649.