Question

Segment EF is the midsegment of trapezoid ABCD. Find the length of segment EF if segment AB is 20 and segment CD is 12.

Answer 1

Midsegment = 1/2(base1 + base2)

EF = 1/2(AB + CD)

EF = 1/2(20 + 12)

EF = 1/2(32)

EF = 16

Answer

EF = 16

Answer 2

Answer:

The length of the mid-segment EF is 16.

Step-by-step explanation:

In this exercise the main idea is to know the formula for the mid-segment of a trapezoid. This formula should be well known because it is used to find the area of a trapezoid.

If we denote the mid-segment of a trapezoid as $m$, the larger basis as $B$ and the smaller basis as $b$, the formula states:

$m = \frac{B+b}{2}.$

In this particular exercise $m=EF$, $B=AB$ and $b=DC$.

Thus,

$EF = \frac{DC + AB}{2} = \frac{20+12}{2} = \frac{32}{2} = 16.$