Michael is building a skateboard ramp. He cannot decide how long the ramp should be so he draws the blueprint below. Michael draws a vertical line in the big triangle ΔAGH to form the smaller triangle ΔABC. Michael determines the slope of both triangles to find out which ramp will be steeper.

image 10272c1695fc4aae89dafa138bbff931

Part A:
What is the slope of ΔABC?

Part B:
What is the slope of ΔAGH?

Part C:
How do the slopes compare?

1 answer

To answer your questions about the slopes of triangles ΔABC and ΔAGH, we'll need to derive the slopes based on the coordinates of points A, B, C, G, H. Since the image you referred to is not visible, I'll guide you through the general process to find slopes of triangles formed by points in a coordinate system.

Part A: Finding the slope of ΔABC

To find the slope of triangle ΔABC, we will use the formula for slope \( m \):

\[ m = \frac{y_2 - y_1}{x_2 - x_1} \]

Assuming we have the coordinates of points A, B, and C:

  • Let point A be \((x_1, y_1)\)
  • Let point B be \((x_2, y_2)\), which is the vertex of the triangle at the top
  • Let point C be \((x_3, y_3)\), which is the point where the line meets the ground vertically beneath B.

Then, you can calculate the slope of line AC (the ramp) using the coordinates:

\[ m_{AC} = \frac{y_C - y_A}{x_C - x_A} \]

If needed, you can also calculate the slope of line AB if you're tasked with that:

\[ m_{AB} = \frac{y_B - y_A}{x_B - x_A} \]

Part B: Finding the slope of ΔAGH

For triangle ΔAGH, the process is similar. Assuming the coordinates are as follows:

  • Point G \((x_G, y_G)\)
  • Point H \((x_H, y_H)\)

You can find the slope of line AG or line AH. For example, to find the slope of line AG:

\[ m_{AG} = \frac{y_G - y_A}{x_G - x_A} \]

And for line AH:

\[ m_{AH} = \frac{y_H - y_A}{x_H - x_A} \]

Part C: Comparing the slopes

After calculating both slopes, you can compare:

  1. If \( m_{AC} > m_{AG} \): Triangle ΔABC is steeper than ΔAGH.
  2. If \( m_{AC} < m_{AG} \): Triangle ΔAGH is steeper than ΔABC.
  3. If \( m_{AC} = m_{AG} \): Both triangles have the same steepness.

Summary

  1. Define vertices' coordinates.
  2. Apply the slope formula for each triangle's segments.
  3. Compare the calculated slopes, and thus determine which ramp is steeper.

Once you have the coordinates from your image, simply plug them into the formulas to find your specific slopes. If you can share the coordinates of A, B, C, G, and H, I could assist with the specific calculations.