Big Ideas Math Algebra 2, 2014
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Big Ideas Math Algebra 2, 2014 View details
Mathematical Practices
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Exercise 3 Page 236

Notice that you need to use a ruler that shows inches.

Our answers are reasonable.

Practice makes perfect

We have been asked to check the reasonableness of the measures we found in the previous exercise. This does not mean we should measure the exact length of the sides. This is, apart from c which is a whole number, impossible given their lengths. a&≈ 1.4in. b&≈ 1.7in. c&=2.0in. d&≈ 2.2in. If we measured a and got 3.3 inches instead of a length of around 1.4, then our answer from the previous exercise is not reasonable. Let's place the ruler along the hypotenuse of the smallest triangle.

As we can see the length is about 1.4 inches. We cannot confirm this exactly given the limitations of the ruler but it's close enough. Let's also measure the length of b.

From the diagram, we see that b is about 1.7 inches which matches the length we calculated in the previous exercise. Let's also measure c.

From the diagram, we see that c is 2 inches which matches the length we calculated in the previous exercise. Let's also measure d.

The last side also checks out.