The perimeter of a right-angled triangle is 72 cm - Edexcel - GCSE Maths - Question 8 - 2018 - Paper 1
Question 8
The perimeter of a right-angled triangle is 72 cm.
The lengths of its sides are in the ratio 3 : 4 : 5.
Work out the area of the triangle.
Worked Solution & Example Answer:The perimeter of a right-angled triangle is 72 cm - Edexcel - GCSE Maths - Question 8 - 2018 - Paper 1
Step 1
Determine the lengths of the sides
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Answer
Let the sides of the triangle be represented as:
Base = 3x
Height = 4x
Hypotenuse = 5x
The perimeter of the triangle can be expressed as:
extPerimeter=extBase+extHeight+extHypotenuse=3x+4x+5x=12x
Setting this equal to 72 cm gives:
12x=72
Solving for x yields:
x=6
Thus, the lengths of the sides are:
Base = 3×6=18 cm
Height = 4×6=24 cm
Hypotenuse = 5×6=30 cm
Step 2
Calculate the area of the triangle
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Answer
The area of a right-angled triangle is given by:
extArea=21×Base×Height
Substituting the base and height values:
extArea=21×18×24
Calculating this gives:
extArea=21×432=216 cm2