Question

An isosceles trapezoid has a perimeter of 42 inches. Each of the congruent nonparallel sides is 5 inches long and the trapezoid is 3 inches tall. How long are the two parallel sides?
A. 10 in, 22 in
B. 16 in, 16 in
C. 10 in, 16 in
D. 12 in, 20 in
* I understand that you add the sides altogether so 5+5=10 and 42-10=32. Therefore, the sum of the parallel sides equal 32, but I don't know how to find the parallel sides

Answer 1

the 3 and the 5 are memory ticklers

if you draw a 3-4-5 triangle at each end of the longer base
... you'll see that it is 8 inches longer than the shorter base

Answer 2

thank you!