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Mathematics 11 Online
OpenStudy (anonymous):

triangle help plz

OpenStudy (nerdyotter):

Okay. What's your question?

OpenStudy (anonymous):

|dw:1439402369884:dw| Given that:AB-8 BC=3 DE=13 BD=x What is the value of xx?

OpenStudy (anonymous):

@ganeshie8 @Hero @pooja195

OpenStudy (nerdyotter):

I'd say just set up a ratio between the corresponding sides of the triangle and use substitution to find the value of x, then multiply x by itself.

OpenStudy (anonymous):

ok imma be real with u but i only got x part and multiply it now slow down and explain

OpenStudy (anonymous):

@heretohelpalways

OpenStudy (nerdyotter):

If you'll notice, since triangle ABC and triangle ADE both share point A, they are similar triangles. This means that we can set up a proportion between sides AB and AD, and sides BC and DE.

OpenStudy (nerdyotter):

It would look like this, \[\frac{ AB }{ AD } = \frac{ BC }{ DE }\] This is a proportion between the side lengths of the smaller and larger triangles. Now all you have to do is substitute to find the value of x. I'll explain further.

OpenStudy (nerdyotter):

Since AB is 8, we would substitute that value in for the proportion. This continues with the other values until we arrive at... \[\frac{ 8 }{ 8 + x } = \frac{ 3 }{ 13 }\] All you have to do now is cross multiply and you'll be able to find the value of x.

OpenStudy (anonymous):

wht pellet im fried im lost again ahhhhhhhh my brain

OpenStudy (nerdyotter):

@jamesr Where have you been able to follow up to?

OpenStudy (anonymous):

the part where it would look like ...

OpenStudy (nerdyotter):

Are you talking about the proportion I set up? The second proportion I set up is the same as the first one. All I did was substitute in values. In simpler terms, if we're trying to find... \[\frac{ AB }{ AE } = \frac{ BC }{ DE }\] This proportion is the exact same as... \[\frac{ 8 }{ 8 + x } = \frac{ 3 }{ 13 }\] The only thing the second proportion is doing is substituting in the values of AB, AE, BC, and DE.

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