The diagram shows two right-angled triangles ABD and BCD, sharing a common side BD - OCR - GCSE Maths - Question 11 - 2018 - Paper 1
Question 11
The diagram shows two right-angled triangles ABD and BCD, sharing a common side BD.
AD = 10 cm, BC = 12 cm and angle DBC = 60°.
Work out the length of AB.
Worked Solution & Example Answer:The diagram shows two right-angled triangles ABD and BCD, sharing a common side BD - OCR - GCSE Maths - Question 11 - 2018 - Paper 1
Step 1
1. Find the length of BD using triangle BCD
96%
114 rated
Only available for registered users.
Sign up now to view full answer, or log in if you already have an account!
Answer
In triangle BCD, we can use the cosine rule to find BD.
Using the formula:
BD=BC⋅cos(60∘)
Substituting the values:
BD=12⋅0.5=6 cm
Step 2
2. Find the length of AB using triangle ABD
99%
104 rated
Only available for registered users.
Sign up now to view full answer, or log in if you already have an account!
Answer
In triangle ABD, we can now use the Pythagorean theorem to find AB:
The side AD = 10 cm and we have found BD = 6 cm. Therefore, we can apply:
AB2+BD2=AD2
Substituting the known values:
AB2+62=102
This results in:
AB2+36=100
Thus:
AB2=64
Taking the square root gives:
AB=8 cm