Question

i understand normal trig + pythagorean theorem but i don't understand how to break this down into the equation.

Answer 1

ANSWER

$21.9$

EXPLANATION

We want to solve for x in the figure given.

The given triangle is an isosceles triangle, and so the perpendicular line drawn divides the line into equal halves.

This implies that we now have a right triangle as follows:

Now, we can solve for x using Pythagoras theorem:

$x^2=9^2+20^2_{}$

Simplify and solve for x:

$\begin{gathered} x^2=81+400 \\ x^2=481 \\ x=\sqrt[]{481} \\ x=21.9 \end{gathered}$

That is the value of x.