29.


Home plate for professional baseball has the dimensions shown below.

What is the area of home plate, in square inches?

1 answer

To find the area of home plate, we need to calculate the area of the trapezoidal shape.

The dimensions are:
- The front edge is 17 inches long
- The back edge is 8.5 inches long
- The two sides are each 12 inches long

We can find the height of the trapezoid by drawing a perpendicular line from the back edge to the front edge. This line divides the trapezoid into a smaller trapezoid and a right triangle. The height of the right triangle is the difference between the front and back edge lengths, which is 17 - 8.5 = 8.5 inches.

The area of the trapezoid can be calculated using the formula: Area = 0.5 * (sum of the lengths of the parallel sides) * height

Area = 0.5 * (17 + 8.5) * 8.5
Area = 0.5 * 25.5 * 8.5
Area = 108.375 square inches

Therefore, the area of home plate is 108.375 square inches.