SOLUTION: the height of a triangle is 4 feet less than the base. The area of the triangle is 198 square feet. Fine the length of the base and the height of the triangle 1/2(x(x+4)=198

 

Hi,

Question States***height of a triangle is 4 feet less than the base

1/2(x(x-4)=198

1/2(x^2-4x)=198

x^2-4x-396 = 0    |Hint: sqrt(396) = ~19.9  (2*8) ends in 6

(x -22)(x+18) = 0   (Tossing out the negative solution for unit measure)

   x = 22ft, the width.  Then length is 18ft

Or quadratic Eq always works

 


 
Solved by pluggable solver: SOLVE quadratic equation with variable
Quadratic equation  (in our case ) has the following solutons:

  

  

  

  For these solutions to exist, the discriminant  should not be a negative number.

  

  First, we need to compute the discriminant : .

  

  Discriminant d=1600 is greater than zero. That means that there are two solutions: .

  

    

    

    

    Quadratic expression  can be factored:

  

  Again, the answer is: 22, -18.
Here's your graph: