Question 823670
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Hi, there--

YOUR PROBLEM:
Write an equation using the given information about the parallelogram. Then solve the 
equation to find x.

The area is 195 square inches. 
The base is 15 in. wide

NOTE :: A "square inch" is a measurement of area. It is sometimes written as the abbreviation 
{{{in^2}}}. It is not the same as raising "to the power of two."

A SOLUTION:

Let x be the height of the parallelogram (in inches).

The formula for the area of a parallelogram is "base times height." Let's convert that to an 
equation:

[base of the parallelogram] * [height of the parallelogram] = [area of the parallelogram]

[15 inches] * [ x ] = [195 square inches]

We filled in each of the numbers we were given and we are left with an equation with the variable x. 

{{{15x=195}}}

15x is equivalent to 195. We want to know what x is, so we divide both sides of the equation by 15.

{{{(15x)/15=195/15}}}

Now simplify: 15x divided by 15 is x by itself, and 195 divided by 15 is 13.

{{{x=13}}}

Remember that we said that x is the height of the parallelogram in inches. In the context of 
this problem, x=13 means the height of the parallelogram is 13 inches.

Hope this helps,
Mrs. Figgy
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