SOLUTION: If a parallelgram's longer side is 20 and its shorter side is 12. And its diagonal is 16 how do you fing the height?

Algebra ->  Parallelograms -> SOLUTION: If a parallelgram's longer side is 20 and its shorter side is 12. And its diagonal is 16 how do you fing the height?      Log On


   

Question 603742: If a parallelgram's longer side is 20 and its shorter side is 12. And its diagonal is 16 how do you fing the height?
Answer by alicealc(293) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
since
12%5E2+%2B+16%5E2+=+20%5E2
then the diagonal must be perpendicular to the shorter side (Phytagoras theorem)

so we can use area formula of parallelogram to find the height:
Area = base * height
if the base is 12, then the height is 16 (because the two lines are perpendicular)
so, the area will be 12*16 = 192 square unit

Area = base * height
192 = 20 * height
height = 192/20 = 9.6

so, the height of the parallelogram is 9.6 unit