McGraw Hill Glencoe Algebra 2, 2012
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McGraw Hill Glencoe Algebra 2, 2012 View details
7. Congruent and Similar Figures
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Exercise 9 Page P21

The ratio between corresponding sides is the same for all pairs of corresponding sides.

x=10.2 and y=13.6

Practice makes perfect

We are told that the triangles are similar, and we want to find the values of x and y for the missing side lengths.

Since the figures are similar, their corresponding sides are also similar. Let's consider the triangles separately and identify corresponding sides.
  • There is only one side on each triangle included between two acute angles. These are corresponding sides.
  • Similarly, there is only one side on each triangle included between the right angle and the common acute angle, as we can see in the figure above. Thus, they are also corresponding sides.
  • The remaining sides are also corresponding.
The ratio between corresponding sides is the same for all pairs of corresponding sides. 6/x=8/y=10/17 We can use the ratio without variables to solve for the values of x and y. Let's solve for x first.
6/x=10/17
Solve for x
6(17)=x(10)
102=10x
10.2=x
x=10.2
We will solve for y in a similar way.
8/y=10/17
Solve for y
8(17)=y(10)
136=10y
13.6=y
y=13.6