SOLUTION: The screen size of a television is determined by the length of the diagonal of the rectangular screen. Traditional TVs come in a 4:3 format, meaning the ratio of the length to the

Algebra ->  Pythagorean-theorem -> SOLUTION: The screen size of a television is determined by the length of the diagonal of the rectangular screen. Traditional TVs come in a 4:3 format, meaning the ratio of the length to the       Log On


   



Question 499034: The screen size of a television is determined by the length of the diagonal of the rectangular screen. Traditional TVs come in a 4:3 format, meaning the ratio of the length to the width of the rectangular screen is 4 to 3. What is the area of a 37-inch traditional TV screen? What is the area of a 37-inch LCD TV whose screen is in a 16:9 format? So far I tried to get the traditional tv's dimension with the pythagorean theorem. so it was X^2 + (3/4)X^2 = 37^2 (X= length) and my final answer was X= 48.95 but when i got the area it was wrong.
Found 2 solutions by chessace, cleomenius:
Answer by chessace(471) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
You should have seen a "red flag" when your side was longer than hypotenuse.
I got X = 27.97.

Answer by cleomenius(959) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
In this case since we know the ratio, we will modify the pathogorean formula to account for the ratio.
%284%2Ax%29%5E2 + %283%2Ax%29%5E2 = 37^2
%284%2Ax%29%5E2 + %283%2Ax%29%5E2 = 1369
16 * x%5E2 + 9 * x%5E2 = 1369
25x%5E2 = 1369
x%5E2 = 54.76
x = 7.4
7.4 * 3 = 22.2
7.4 * 4 = 29.6
22.2%5E2 + 29.6%5E2 = 1369
492.84 + 876.16 = 1369
This does check.
The area will be 22.2 inches* 29.6 inches = 657.12 inches.
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%289%2Ax%29%5E2 + %2816%2Ax%29%5E2 = 37^2
%289%2Ax%29%5E2 + %2816%2Ax%29%5E2 = 1369
81 * x%5E2 + 256 * x%5E2 = 1369
337x%5E2 = 1369
x%5E2 = 4.06
x = 2.0
2 * 9 = 18
2 * 16 = 32
18%5E2 + 32%5E2 = 1369
324+ 1024= 1368 (round off error)
This does check.
The area will be 18 inches * 32 inches = 576 inches
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Cleomenius