Question

If the triangles are similar, then the value of x is (blank) and the value of y is (blank)

Answer 1

Answer:

($x$, $y$) = (30, 16)

Step-by-step explanation:

First find the similarity

Since you know the legnth of the hypotenuse (the longest one) for both traingles, you can find the similarity by dividing the longer by the shorter:

50 ÷ 20 = 2.5

The similarity between the 2 triangles is 2.5.

Now find the length of $x$ on the longer one, use the shorter one's length and the similarity:

12 × 2.5 = 30

So the length of $x$ is equal to 30

Now lets find $y$, lets use the length of the larger triangle this time and divide the length of the longer leg (there are 2 legs in every triangle, if you don't know the hypotenus's length, use the pythagorean theorem) and divide it by the similarity:

40 ÷ 2.5 = 16

$y$ = 16

WooHoo! ($x$, $y$) = (30, 16)