Question 573316
The congruent sides of an isosceles triangle measure 6cm, and the base measures 8cm. What is the area? I don't understand how you would find the necessary height of the triangle, or how the base of an isosceles triangle can be longer than the two other congruent sides.
**
Just imagine a flattened isosceles triangle and you can see that the base can be longer than the sides. Draw a line from the apex perpendicular to the base. You now will be working with a right triangle where the hypotenuse is one of the sides (6cm), one of the legs is half of the base (4), and the other leg is the height (h).
..
h^2=6^2-4^2
h^2=36-16=20
h=√20
Area=1/2 base*height
=1/2*8*√20
=4√20=16√5
ans:
Area=16√5 cm^2