"The base of a triangle is five times its height. Its area is 160 square inches. Find the height and base, then enter their sum below."

Question

Yall I'm so confused by this, if I could get some help that would be great!! Thank you!

Answer 1

b = base

h = height

Area of triangle:

A = b ∙ h / 2

In this case:

b = 5 h , A = 160 in²

160 = 5 h ∙ h / 2

160 = 5 h² / 2

Multiply both sides by 2

320 = 5 h²

Divide both sides by 5

64 = h²

h = ± √64

h = ± 8

Height can not be negative so:

h = 8 in

b = 5 h

b = 5 ∙ 8 = 40 in

Answer 2

Thank you! So you're saying that the sum is 40?

Answer 3

Not the sum is used for the area of a triangle, but half the product of two numbers.

The product of 5 and 8 is 40.

Answer 4

How would I calculate the sum?

Answer 5

"sum" means you add
8+40 = 48