Question

Charlene puts together two isosceles triangles so that they share a base, creating a kite. The legs of the triangles are 10 inches and 17 inches, respectively. If the length of the base for both triangles is 16 inches long, what is the length of the kite’s other diagonal?

Answer 1

From the information given you have:

1) Smaller diagonal of the kite: 16 inches


2) Larger diagonal of the kite: height of one triangle (h1) + height of the other triangle (h2)


3) Calculation of the height of the smaller triangle, h1:


10^2 = (16/2)^2 + (h1)^2 => h1 = √ [10^2 - 8^2] = 6


4) Calculation of the height of the larger triangle, h2


17^2 = (16/2)^2 + (h2)^2 => h2 = √[17^2  - 8^2] = 15


5) Larger diagonal = h1 + h2 = 6 + 15 = 21


Answer: 21 inches

Answer 2

Answer:

21 inches

Step-by-step explanation: