Question

Solve the triangle using similarity

Answer 1

15. The left triangle is similar to the whole triangle. The x of the small triangle is proportional to the hypotenuse of the large triangle (9+16 =25). the x of the large triangle is proportional to the 9 unit leg of the small triangle.  this creates the proportion $\frac{x}{9} = \frac{25}{x}$. Cross multiply to get $x^{2} =225$ take the square roots of both sides to get x=225