Here is a right- angled triangle.

Question

|\
| \
x | \
|___\
x - 2

All measurements are in centimetres.
The area if the triangle is 2.5cm^2.

Find the perimeter of the triangle.

Key values:
Equation for area:
?
- __(___) = ?
?

Quadratic equation:
-b ± √b^2 - 4ac
-------------
2a

Solutions:
x = ? or ?

Length of the hypotenuse:
?

Perimeter
? + ? + ? = ? cm

Thanks

Answer 1

looks like your base is x-2 and the height is x, so

(1/2)(x)(x-2) = 2.5
x(x-2) = 5
x^2 - 2x - 5 = 0

solve for x and take it from there

Answer 2

Hi Reiny,

What would a, b and c be for the quadratic formula?

Thanks

Answer 3

huh? a,b,c are the coefficients in the equation, as usual!

Answer 4

Edhbshan