McGraw Hill Integrated II, 2012
MH
McGraw Hill Integrated II, 2012 View details
5. Parts of Similar Triangles
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Exercise 3 Page 586

Recall that if two triangles are similar, the lengths of corresponding altitudes are proportional to the lengths of corresponding sides.

≈ 35.7 in.

Practice makes perfect
Let's begin with recalling one of the Special Segments of Similar Triangles Theorems. If two triangles are similar, the lengths of corresponding altitudes are proportional to the lengths of corresponding sides. Now, let's look at the given diagram. Let x be the distance between the pupil and the cat.
We can create a proportion using the fact that the lengths of corresponding altitudes are proportional to the lengths of corresponding sides. x/25=10/7 Now, we will solve the proportion for x using cross multiplication.
x/25=10/7
x*7=25*10
7x=250
x=250/7
x=35.7142...
x≈ 35.7
The cat is approximately 35.7 inches away from the pupil.