SOLUTION: The height of a triangle is 8m less than the base. The area is 10cm^2. Find the height and the base. I have tried the equation 10=b(b-8)1/2. I then subtracted 10 from both side

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Question 708475: The height of a triangle is 8m less than the base. The area is 10cm^2. Find the height and the base.
I have tried the equation 10=b(b-8)1/2. I then subtracted 10 from both sides and turned the left side into b^2 -8b-5. Then I could not figure out how to factor correctly. Am I doing the equation wrong or did I mess up on the problem entirely?
Answer by stanbon(75887) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
The height of a triangle is 8m less than the base. The area is 10cm^2. Find the height and the base.
I have tried the equation 10=b(b-8)(1/2).
b(b-8) = 20
b^2 - 8b - 20 = 0
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Factor:
b^2-10b + 2b-20 = 0
b(b-10) + 2(b-10) = 0
(b-10)(b+2) = 0
Positive solution:
base = 10 cm
altitude = b-8 = 2 cm
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Cheers,
Stan H.
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