Question

When an altitude is drawn to the hypotenuse of a right triangle, the lengths of the segments of the hypotenuse are 4 and 9. What is the length of the altitude?

9

13

4

6

Answer 1

@Rav

Answer 2

@terenzreignz

Answer 3

do u know this? @terenzreignz

Answer 4

Yeah. But I think I'll wait for @Rav to have his/her say :)

Answer 5

which one do u think it is? i think its 13 or 4

Answer 6

You can't have two answers.

Answer 7

im preety sure its 13 though,is it?

Answer 8

No.

Answer 9

ughhh so its 4?

Answer 10

If I suspect you're guessing, I'll just keep saying no even if you mention the correct answer :P

Best not to guess :)

Answer 11

i just dont really know the answer,can u give it to me and explain how u got it?

Answer 12

What does @Rav think? :)

Answer 13

i dont think his gonna come. i wanna get through this quick since its late and learn it

Answer 14

This is not an exam, right?

Answer 15

no

Answer 16

So... what do you know about altitudes of right triangles?

Answer 17

idk..

Answer 18

Well, we have to work with what we know... Altitudes drawn to hypotenuses make the two resulting triangles similar to each other.

Answer 19

yeahh!

Answer 20

Well, what does that mean, when two triangles are similar?

Answer 21

when they are alike

Answer 22

alike... but specifically?

Answer 23

when they are congruent or have something identical

Answer 24

Congruent triangles are certainly similar. Can you expound on "have something identical"?

Answer 25

like the same lines.

Answer 26

can u just help me this one? The picture shows a portion of an irrigation system for a farm. QR is the main water pipe.
http://oi49.tinypic.com/mwvcbm.jpg

What is the length of the water pipe PR?

10 feet

20 feet

14.1 feet

28.3 feet I dont get it @terenzreignz

Answer 27

Start with what you know.

You know SOHCAHTOA: sin = O/H, cos = A/H, tan = O/A

You know one angle, 45 degrees

You know one side, 20 ft, adjacent to the angle.

What do you need, sin cos or tan?

Answer 28

im not sure @Rav

Answer 29

Look at what you have then. I can't give you the answer here. I've walked you through a few trigonometry questions and I want to make sure you're understanding the material. Math problems are ALL about selecting the right equation or correlation based on what information you already have.

Answer 30

ik and i appreciate that. Can you give me the answer and explain how you got it then? i understand really good that way. cuz idk anything about this

Answer 31

Well in this problem you know the longest side (20 ft) and you want the length of the side next to the angle (the adjacent side). So what you want is a relationship that combines the hypotenuse (H) and the adjacent (A) into one formula. You can choose sin (O/H), cos (A/H) or tan (O/A). Which one should you use?

Answer 32

umm tan?

Answer 33

Plug in the values. You want to find A and you know H.

So using tan:
tan 45 = O/20
20 tan 45 = O

Does that help?

Answer 34

yes!

Answer 35

guide me to the answer so i know how to work out everything! it helps alot!

Answer 36

Remember your options.

tan 45 = O/A
A tan 45 = O

sin 45 = O/20
20 sin 45 = O

cos 45 = O/20
20 cos 45 = A

Which equation gives you the answer you want? And by that I mean, which one has only a number on one side and the unknown variable (A) on the other?

Answer 37

That last one should read

cos 45 = A/20
20 cos 45 = A

Answer 38

Cosec 45

Answer 39

Cosec 45 = 1/sin 45 = H/O = 20/O

Is that correct?

Answer 40

yes

Answer 41

If that's correct, then tell me the value of A.

Answer 42

Oh not its not correct. but idk which one is correct.

Answer 43

Why don't you know? What do we need to work on first?

Answer 44

im just verry tirred and for now i just want to know the answer and then tomorrow actually try to learn it. are u going to get on tomorrow?

Answer 45

Yes I'll be on here tomorrow. The answer is 10.5 ft.

cos 45 = A/H = A/20
20 cos 45 = A
A = 10.5

Answer 46

theres no 10.5.. only 10. @rav

Answer 47

Then it must be 10, but remember the two sides always add up to more than the hypotenuse, so it can't be exactly 10.

Answer 48

Ok, can u give me the answer to this one too? Tomorrow imma get on so i can learn all this. Two end points of a line segment are (-12, -2) and (-6, -10). What are the coordinates of the point on the line through which its bisector passes?

(-18, -12)

(-9, -6)

(-7, -8)

(-11, -4)