"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."

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

5 answers

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
Thank you! So you're saying that the sum is 40?
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.
How would I calculate the sum?
"sum" means you add
8+40 = 48