document.write( "Question 1177132: given: triangle abc is scalene
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document.write( " altitudes ae,cd\r
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document.write( "prove: ae is not congruent to cd
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Algebra.Com's Answer #850515 by CPhill(1959)![]() ![]() You can put this solution on YOUR website! **1. Given Information**\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "* Triangle ABC is scalene. This means that all three sides of the triangle have different lengths. \n" ); document.write( "* AE and CD are altitudes of triangle ABC. This means that AE is perpendicular to BC, and CD is perpendicular to AB.\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "**2. Assumption**\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "Let's assume, for the sake of contradiction, that AE is congruent to CD.\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "**3. Area of a Triangle**\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "The area of a triangle can be calculated as (1/2) * base * height.\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "**4. Applying the Area Formula**\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "* Area of triangle ABC using base BC and altitude AE: (1/2) * BC * AE \n" ); document.write( "* Area of triangle ABC using base AB and altitude CD: (1/2) * AB * CD\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "**5. Using the Assumption**\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "Since we assumed AE ≅ CD, we can substitute AE for CD in the area formulas:\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "* (1/2) * BC * AE = (1/2) * AB * AE\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "**6. Simplifying the Equation**\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "If we divide both sides of the equation by (1/2) * AE, we get:\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "* BC = AB\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "**7. Contradiction**\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "This result contradicts our given information that triangle ABC is scalene (meaning all sides have different lengths).\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "**8. Conclusion**\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "Therefore, our initial assumption that AE ≅ CD must be false. Hence, we have proven that AE is not congruent to CD. \n" ); document.write( " |