Question

Ms.Henderson is using triangles in her graphic design project.The triangles are isosceles.One had a base of 4 inches and legs of 2 inches.If the other triangle has a base of 9 inches how long are the legs?

Answer 1

If the two triangles are similar you can use a proportion to solve for the length of the legs.
$\frac{2}{4}$=$\frac{x}{9}$
Now, you would cross multiply to get 
4x=18
Now, you simplify that using the division property of equality.
You end up with 
x=4.5
Therefore, the legs of the triangle with a base of 9 inches will each be 4.5 units long.