In a right triangle △ABC, ∠ABC=90∘, AB=6, and AC=10. Point D lies on side BC,

and AD is the altitude from vertex A to the hypotenuse BC. Find the length of BD.

1 answer

To find the length of \( BD \) in the right triangle \( \triangle ABC \) with \( \angle ABC = 90^\circ \), \( AB = 6 \), and \( AC = 10 \), we start by determining \( BC \) using the Pythagorean theorem.

The Pythagorean theorem states:

\[ AB^2 + BC^2 = AC^2 \]

Substituting the known values:

\[ 6^2 + BC^2 = 10^2 \]

This simplifies to:

\[ 36 + BC^2 = 100 \]

Solving for \( BC^2 \):

\[ BC^2 = 100 - 36 = 64 \]

Taking the square root gives:

\[ BC = \sqrt{64} = 8 \]

Now we have the triangle with sides \( AB = 6 \), \( AC = 10 \), and \( BC = 8 \).

Next, we will calculate the area of triangle \( ABC \) in two ways: using the base and height, and using the sides.

  1. Using the sides: The area \( K \) can be calculated using the formula for the area of a triangle with the right angle:

\[ K = \frac{1}{2} \times AB \times BC = \frac{1}{2} \times 6 \times 8 = 24 \]

  1. Using the altitude: Let \( D \) be the foot of the altitude from \( A \) to \( BC \). The area can also be expressed as:

\[ K = \frac{1}{2} \times BC \times AD \]

Since we already computed the area \( K = 24 \):

\[ 24 = \frac{1}{2} \times 8 \times AD \]

Solving for \( AD \):

\[ 24 = 4 \times AD \quad \Rightarrow \quad AD = \frac{24}{4} = 6 \]

Now, we can apply the relationship between the segments \( BD \) and \( DC \) on hypotenuse \( BC \). Let \( BD = x \) and \( DC = y \).

With \( BD + DC = BC \):

\[ x + y = 8 \]

Using the property of similar triangles \( \triangle ABD \sim \triangle ADC \):

\[ \frac{AB}{AD} = \frac{AD}{DC} \quad \Rightarrow \quad \frac{6}{6} = \frac{6}{y} \]

This implies \( y = 6 \).

Now substituting \( y \) into the equation \( x + y = 8 \):

\[ x + 6 = 8 \quad \Rightarrow \quad x = 2 \]

Thus, the length of \( BD \) is:

\[ \boxed{2} \]