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3.3: Use Properties of Rectangles, Triangles, and Trapezoids

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    152037
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    Learning Objectives

    After completing this section, you should be able to:

    • Understand linear, square, and cubic measure
    • Use properties of rectangles
    • Use properties of triangles
    • Use properties of trapezoids

    In this section, we’ll continue working with geometry applications. We will add some more properties of triangles, and we’ll learn about the properties of rectangles and trapezoids.

    Understand Linear, Square, and Cubic Measure

    When you measure your height or the length of a garden hose, you use a ruler or tape measure (Figure 3.3.1). A tape measure might remind you of a line—you use it for linear measure, which measures length. Inch, foot, yard, mile, centimeter and meter are units of linear measure.

    A picture of a portion of a tape measure is shown. The top shows the numbers 1 through 5. The portion from the beginning to the 1 has a red circle and an arrow to a picture from 0 to 1 inch, with 1 sixteenth, 1 eighth, 3 eighths, 1 half, and 3 fourths labeled. Above this, it is labeled “Standard Measures.” The bottom of the tape measure shows the numbers 1 through 10, then 1 and 2. The region from the edge to about 3 and a half has a red circle with an arrow pointing to a picture from 0 to 3.5. It is labeled 0, 1 cm, 1.7 cm, 2.3 cm and 3.5 cm. Above this, it is labeled “Metric (S).”
    Figure 3.3.1: This tape measure measures inches along the top and centimeters along the bottom.

    When you want to know how much tile is needed to cover a floor, or the size of a wall to be painted, you need to know the area, a measure of the region needed to cover a surface. Area is measured is square units. We often use square inches, square feet, square centimeters, or square miles to measure area. A square centimeter is a square that is one centimeter (cm) on each side. A square inch is a square that is one inch on each side (Figure 3.3.2).

    Two squares are shown. The smaller one has sides labeled 1 cm and is 1 square centimeter. The larger one has sides labeled 1 inch and is 1 square inch.
    Figure 3.3.2: Square measures have sides that are each 1 1 unit in length.

    Figure 3.3.3 shows a rectangular rug that is 22 feet long by 33 feet wide. Each square is 11 foot wide by 11 foot long, or 11 square foot. The rug is made of 66 squares. The area of the rug is 66 square feet.

    A rectangle is shown. It has 3 squares across and 2 squares down, a total of 6 squares.
    Figure 3.3.3: The rug contains six squares of 1 square foot each, so the total area of the rug is 6 square feet.

    When you measure how much it takes to fill a container, such as the amount of gasoline that can fit in a tank, or the amount of medicine in a syringe, you are measuring volume. Volume is measured in cubic units such as cubic inches or cubic centimeters. When measuring the volume of a rectangular solid, you measure how many cubes fill the container. We often use cubic centimeters, cubic inches, and cubic feet. A cubic centimeter is a cube that measures one centimeter on each side, while a cubic inch is a cube that measures one inch on each side (Figure 3.3.4).

    Two cubes are shown. The smaller one has sides labeled 1 cm and is labeled as 1 cubic centimeter. The larger one has sides labeled 1 inch and is labeled as 1 cubic inch.
    Figure 3.3.4: Cubic measures have sides that are 1 unit in length.

    Suppose the cube in Figure 3.3.5 measures 33 inches on each side and is cut on the lines shown. How many little cubes does it contain? If we were to take the big cube apart, we would find 2727 little cubes, with each one measuring one inch on all sides. So each little cube has a volume of 11 cubic inch, and the volume of the big cube is 2727 cubic inches.

    A cube is shown, comprised of smaller cubes. Each side of the cube has 3 smaller cubes across, for a total of 27 smaller cubes.
    Figure 3.3.5: A cube that measures 3 inches on each side is made up of 27 one-inch cubes, or 27 cubic inches.

    Example 3.3.1

    For each item, state whether you would use linear, square, or cubic measure:

    1. amount of carpeting needed in a room
    2. extension cord length
    3. amount of sand in a sandbox
    4. length of a curtain rod
    5. amount of flour in a canister
    6. size of the roof of a doghouse.
    Answer
    You are measuring how much surface the carpet covers, which is the area. square measure
    You are measuring how long the extension cord is, which is the length. linear measure
    You are measuring the volume of the sand. cubic measure
    You are measuring the length of the curtain rod. linear measure
    You are measuring the volume of the flour. cubic measure
    You are measuring the area of the roof. square measure

    Your Turn 3.3.1

    Determine whether you would use linear, square, or cubic measure for each item.

    amount of paint in a can height of a tree floor of your bedroom diameter of bike wheel size of a piece of sod amount of water in a swimming pool

    Many geometry applications will involve finding the perimeter or the area of a figure. There are also many applications of perimeter and area in everyday life, so it is important to make sure you understand what they each mean.

    Picture a room that needs new floor tiles. The tiles come in squares that are a foot on each side—one square foot. How many of those squares are needed to cover the floor? This is the area of the floor.

    Next, think about putting new baseboard around the room, once the tiles have been laid. To figure out how many strips are needed, you must know the distance around the room. You would use a tape measure to measure the number of feet around the room. This distance is the perimeter.

    Perimeter and Area

    The perimeter is a measure of the distance around a figure.

    The area is a measure of the surface covered by a figure.

    Figure 3.3.6 shows a square tile that is 11 inch on each side. If an ant walked around the edge of the tile, it would walk 44 inches. This distance is the perimeter of the tile.

    Since the tile is a square that is 11 inch on each side, its area is one square inch. The area of a shape is measured by determining how many square units cover the shape.

    A 5 square by 5 square checkerboard is shown with each side labeled 1 inch. An image of an ant is shown on the top left square.
    Figure 3.3.6: When the ant walks completely around the tile on its edge, it is tracing the perimeter of the tile. The perimeter is 4 inches. The area of the tile is one square inch.

    Example 3.3.2

    Each of two square tiles is 11 square inch. Two tiles are shown together.

    1. What is the perimeter of the figure?
    2. What is the area? A checkerboard is shown. It has 10 squares across the top and 5 down the side.
    Answer

    The perimeter is the distance around the figure. The perimeter is 66 inches.

    The area is the surface covered by the figure. There are 22 square inch tiles so the area is 22 square inches.

    A checkerboard is shown. It has 10 squares across the top and 5 down the side. The top and bottom each have two adjacent 1 inch labels across, the sides have 1 inch labels.

    Your Turn 3.3.2

    Each box in the figure below is 1 square inch. Find the perimeter and area of the figure:

    A rectangle is shown comprised of 3 squares.

    Use the Properties of Rectangles

    A rectangle has four sides and four right angles. The opposite sides of a rectangle are the same length. We refer to one side of the rectangle as the length, L, and the other side as the width, W.

    A rectangle is shown. Each angle is marked with a square. The top and bottom are labeled L, the sides are labeled W.
    Figure 3.3.7: A rectangle has four sides and four right angles. The sides are labeled L for length and W for width.

    The perimeter, P,P, of the rectangle is the distance around the rectangle. If you started at one corner and walked around the rectangle, you would walk L+W+L+WL+W+L+W units, or two lengths and two widths. The perimeter then is

    P=L+W+L+W

    P=2L+2W

    What about the area of a rectangle? Remember the rectangular rug from the beginning of this section in Figure 3.3.3. It was 6 square feet. Since A=23 we see that the area equals the length times the width.

    A rectangle is shown. It is made up of 6 squares. The bottom is 2 squares across and marked as 2, the side is 3 squares long and marked as 3.
    Figure 3.3.3 (again): The area of this rectangular rug is 6 6 square feet, its length times its width.

    Properties of Rectangles

    • Rectangles have four sides and four right (90°)(90°) angles.
    • The lengths of opposite sides are equal.
    • The perimeter, P, of a rectangle is found by adding all of the sides.

      P=2L+2W

    • The area, A,A, of a rectangle is the length times the width.

      A=LWA=LW

    For easy reference as we work the examples in this section, we will restate the Problem Solving Strategy for Geometry Applications here.

    How To

    Use a Problem Solving Strategy for Geometry Applications

    1. Read the problem and make sure you understand all the words and ideas. Draw the figure and label it with the given information.
    2. Identify what you are looking for.
    3. Name what you are looking for. Choose a variable to represent that quantity.
    4. Translate into an equation by writing the appropriate formula or model for the situation. Substitute in the given information.
    5. Solve the equation using good algebra techniques.
    6. Check the answer in the problem and make sure it makes sense.
    7. Answer the question with a complete sentence.

    Example 3.3.3

    The length of a rectangle is 3232 meters and the width is 2020 meters. Find the perimeter, and the area.

    Answer
     
    Step 1. Read the problem. Draw the figure and label it with the given information. .
    Step 2. Identify what you are looking for. the perimeter of a rectangle
    Step 3. Name. Choose a variable to represent it. Let P = the perimeter
    Step 4. Translate.
    Write the appropriate formula.
    Substitute.

    .
    Step 5. Solve the equation. .
    Step 6. Check: .
    Step 7. Answer the question. The perimeter of the rectangle is 104 meters.
     
    Step 1. Read the problem. Draw the figure and label it with the given information. .
    Step 2. Identify what you are looking for. the area of a rectangle
    Step 3. Name. Choose a variable to represent it. Let A = the area
    Step 4. Translate.
    Write the appropriate formula.
    Substitute.

    .
    Step 5. Solve the equation. .
    Step 6. Check: .
    Step 7. Answer the question. The area of the rectangle is 640 square meters.

    Your Turn 3.3.3

    The length of a rectangle is 120120 yards and the width is 5050 yards. Find the perimeter and the area.

    Example 3.3.4

    Find the length of a rectangle with perimeter 5050 inches and width 1010 inches.

    Answer
    Step 1. Read the problem. Draw the figure and label it with the given information. .
    Step 2. Identify what you are looking for. the length of the rectangle
    Step 3. Name. Choose a variable to represent it. Let L = the length
    Step 4. Translate.
    Write the appropriate formula.
    Substitute.

    .
    Step 5. Solve the equation. .
    Step 6. Check: .
    Step 7. Answer the question. The length is 15 inches.

    Your Turn 3.3.4

    Find the length of a rectangle with a perimeter of 8080 inches and width of 2525 inches.

    In the next example, the width is defined in terms of the length. We’ll wait to draw the figure until we write an expression for the width so that we can label one side with that expression.

    Example 3.3.5

    The width of a rectangle is two inches less than the length. The perimeter is 5252 inches. Find the length and width.

    Answer
    Step 1. Read the problem.  
    Step 2. Identify what you are looking for. the length and width of the rectangle
    Step 3. Name. Choose a variable to represent it.

    Now we can draw a figure using these expressions for the length and width.
    Since the width is defined in terms of the length, we let L = length. The width is two feet less that the length, so we let L − 2 = width
    .
    Step 4.Translate.
    Write the appropriate formula. The formula for the perimeter of a rectangle relates all the information.
    Substitute in the given information.

    .
    Step 5. Solve the equation. 52=2L+2L452=2L+2L4
    Combine like terms. 52=4L452=4L4
    Add 4 to each side. 56=4L
    Divide by 4. 564=4L4
      14=L
      The length is 14 inches.
    Now we need to find the width.  
    The width is L − 2. .
    The width is 12 inches.
    Step 6. Check: Since 14+12+14+12=5214+12+14+12=52, this works!
    Step 7. Answer the question. The length is 14 feet and the width is 12 feet.

    Your Turn 3.3.5

    The width of a rectangle is seven meters less than the length. The perimeter is 5858 meters. Find the length and width.

    Example 3.3.6

    The length of a rectangle is four centimeters more than twice the width. The perimeter is 3232 centimeters. Find the length and width.

    Answer
    Step 1. Read the problem.  
    Step 2. Identify what you are looking for. the length and width
    Step 3. Name. Choose a variable to represent it. let W = width
    The length is four more than twice the width.
    2w + 4 = length
    .
    Step 4.Translate.
    Write the appropriate formula and substitute in the given information.
    .
    Step 5. Solve the equation. .
    Step 6. Check: .
    Step 7. Answer the question. The length is 12 cm and the width is 4 cm.

    Your Turn 3.3.6

    The length of a rectangle is eight more than twice the width. The perimeter is 6464 feet. Find the length and width.

    Example 3.3.7

    The area of a rectangular room is 168168 square feet. The length is 1414 feet. What is the width?

    Answer
    Step 1. Read the problem. .
    Step 2. Identify what you are looking for. the width of a rectangular room
    Step 3. Name. Choose a variable to represent it. Let W = width
    Step 4.Translate.
    Write the appropriate formula and substitute in the given information.
    .
    Step 5. Solve the equation. .
    Step 6. Check: .
    Step 7. Answer the question. The width of the room is 12 feet.

    Your Turn 3.3.7

    The area of a rectangle is 598598 square feet. The length is 2323 feet. What is the width?

    Use the Properties of Triangles

    We now know how to find the area of a rectangle. We can use this fact to help us visualize the formula for the area of a triangle. In the rectangle in Figure 3.3.8, we’ve labeled the length bb and the width h,h, so it’s area is bh.bh.

    A rectangle is shown. The side is labeled h and the bottom is labeled b. The center says A equals bh.
    Figure 3.3.8: The area of a rectangle is the base, b , b , times the height, h . h .

    We can divide this rectangle into two congruent triangles (Figure 3.3.9). Triangles that are congruent have identical side lengths and angles, and so their areas are equal. The area of each triangle is one-half the area of the rectangle, or 12bh.12bh. This example helps us see why the formula for the area of a triangle is A=12bh.A=12bh.

    A rectangle is shown. A diagonal line is drawn from the upper left corner to the bottom right corner. The side of the rectangle is labeled h and the bottom is labeled b. Each triangle says one-half bh. To the right of the rectangle, it says “Area of each triangle,” and shows the equation A equals one-half bh.
    Figure 3.3.9: A rectangle can be divided into two triangles of equal area. The area of each triangle is one-half the area of the rectangle.

    The formula for the area of a triangle is A=12bh,A=12bh, where bb is the base and hh is the height.

    To find the area of the triangle, you need to know its base and height. The base is the length of one side of the triangle, usually the side at the bottom. The height is the length of the line that connects the base to the opposite vertex, and makes a 90° angle. Figure 3.3.10 shows three triangles with the base and height of each marked.

    Three triangles are shown. The triangle on the left is a right triangle. The bottom is labeled b and the side is labeled h. The middle triangle is an acute triangle. The bottom is labeled b. There is a dotted line from the top vertex to the base of the triangle, forming a right angle with the base. That line is labeled h. The triangle on the right is an obtuse triangle. The bottom of the triangle is labeled b. The base has a dotted line extended out and forms a right angle with a dotted line to the top of the triangle. The vertical line is labeled h.
    Figure 3.3.10: The height h h of a triangle is the length of a line segment that connects the the base to the opposite vertex and makes a 90° 90° angle with the base.

    Triangle Properties

    For any triangle ΔABC,ΔABC, the sum of the measures of the angles is 180°.180°.

    mA+mB+mC=180°mA+mB+mC=180°

    The perimeter of a triangle is the sum of the lengths of the sides.

    P=a+b+cP=a+b+c

    The area of a triangle is one-half the base, b times the height, h

    A=12bh

    A triangle is shown. The vertices are labeled A, B, and C. The sides are labeled a, b, and c. There is a vertical dotted line from vertex B at the top of the triangle to the base of the triangle, meeting the base at a right angle. The dotted line is labeled h.

    Example 3.3.8

    Find the area of a triangle whose base is 1111 inches and whose height is 88 inches.

    Answer
    Step 1. Read the problem. Draw the figure and label it with the given information. .
    Step 2. Identify what you are looking for. the area of the triangle
    Step 3. Name. Choose a variable to represent it. let A = area of the triangle
    Step 4.Translate.
    Write the appropriate formula.
    Substitute.

    .
    Step 5. Solve the equation. .
    Step 6. Check: .
    Step 7. Answer the question. The area is 44 square inches.

    Your Turn 3.3.8

    Find the area of a triangle with base 1313 inches and height 22 inches.

    Example 3.3.9

    The perimeter of a triangular garden is 2424 feet. The lengths of two sides are 44 feet and 99 feet. How long is the third side?

    Answer
    Step 1. Read the problem. Draw the figure and label it with the given information. .
    Step 2. Identify what you are looking for. length of the third side of a triangle
    Step 3. Name. Choose a variable to represent it. Let c = the third side
    Step 4.Translate.
    Write the appropriate formula.
    Substitute in the given information.

    .
    Step 5. Solve the equation. .
    Step 6. Check: .
    Step 7. Answer the question. The third side is 11 feet long.

    Your Turn 3.3.9

    The perimeter of a triangular garden is 4848 feet. The lengths of two sides are 1818 feet and 2222 feet. How long is the third side?

    Example 3.3.10

    The area of a triangular church window is 9090 square meters. The base of the window is 1515 meters. What is the window’s height?

    Answer
    Step 1. Read the problem. Draw the figure and label it with the given information. .
    Step 2. Identify what you are looking for. height of a triangle
    Step 3. Name. Choose a variable to represent it. Let h = the height
    Step 4.Translate.
    Write the appropriate formula.
    Substitute in the given information.

    .
    Step 5. Solve the equation. .
    Step 6. Check: .
    Step 7. Answer the question. The height of the triangle is 12 meters.

    Your Turn 3.3.10

    The area of a triangular painting is 126126 square inches. The base is 1818 inches. What is the height?

    Isosceles and Equilateral Triangles

    Besides the right triangle, some other triangles have special names. A triangle with two sides of equal length is called an isosceles triangle. A triangle that has three sides of equal length is called an equilateral triangle. Figure 3.3.11 shows both types of triangles.

    Two triangles are shown. All three sides of the triangle on the left are labeled s. It is labeled “equilateral triangle”. Two sides of the triangle on the right are labeled s. It is labeled “isosceles triangle”.
    Figure 3.3.11: In an isosceles triangle, two sides have the same length, and the third side is the base. In an equilateral triangle, all three sides have the same length.

    Isosceles and Equilateral Triangles

    An isosceles triangle has two sides the same length.

    An equilateral triangle has three sides of equal length.

    Example 3.3.11

    The perimeter of an equilateral triangle is 9393 inches. Find the length of each side.

    Answer
    Step 1. Read the problem. Draw the figure and label it with the given information. .
    Perimeter = 93 in.
    Step 2. Identify what you are looking for. length of the sides of an equilateral triangle
    Step 3. Name. Choose a variable to represent it. Let s = length of each side
    Step 4.Translate.
    Write the appropriate formula.
    Substitute.

    .
    Step 5. Solve the equation. .
    Step 6. Check: .
    .
    Step 7. Answer the question. Each side is 31 inches.

    Your Turn 3.3.11

    Find the length of each side of an equilateral triangle with perimeter 3939 inches.

    Example 3.3.12

    Arianna has 156156 inches of beading to use as trim around a scarf. The scarf will be an isosceles triangle with a base of 6060 inches. How long can she make the two equal sides?

    Answer
    Step 1. Read the problem. Draw the figure and label it with the given information. .
    P = 156 in.
    Step 2. Identify what you are looking for. the lengths of the two equal sides
    Step 3. Name. Choose a variable to represent it. Let s = the length of each side
    Step 4.Translate.
    Write the appropriate formula.
    Substitute in the given information.

    .
    Step 5. Solve the equation. .
    Step 6. Check: .
    Step 7. Answer the question. Arianna can make each of the two equal sides 48 inches long.

    Your Turn 3.3.12

    A backyard deck is in the shape of an isosceles triangle with a base of 2020 feet. The perimeter of the deck is 4848 feet. How long is each of the equal sides of the deck?

    Use the Properties of Trapezoids

    A trapezoid is four-sided figure, a quadrilateral, with two sides that are parallel and two sides that are not. The parallel sides are called the bases. We call the length of the smaller base b,b, and the length of the bigger base B.B. The height, h,h, of a trapezoid is the distance between the two bases as shown in Figure 3.3.12.

    A trapezoid is shown. The top is labeled b and marked as the smaller base. The bottom is labeled B and marked as the larger base. A vertical line forms a right angle with both bases and is marked as h.
    Figure 3.3.12: A trapezoid has a larger base, B , B , and a smaller base, b . b . The height h h is the distance between the bases.

    The formula for the area of a trapezoid is:

    Area of trapezoid=12h(b+B)

    Splitting the trapezoid into two triangles may help us understand the formula. The area of the trapezoid is the sum of the areas of the two triangles. See Figure 3.3.13.

    An image of a trapezoid is shown. The top is labeled with a small b, the bottom with a big B. A diagonal is drawn in from the upper left corner to the bottom right corner.
    Figure 3.3.13: Splitting a trapezoid into two triangles may help you understand the formula for its area.

    The formula for the area of a trapezoid is

    This image shows the formula for the area of a trapezoid and says “area of trapezoid equals one-half h times smaller base b plus larger base B).

    If we distribute, we get,

    The top line says area of trapezoid equals one-half times blue little b times h plus one-half times red big B times h. Below this is area of trapezoid equals A sub blue triangle plus A sub red triangle.

    Properties of Trapezoids

    • A trapezoid has four sides.
    • Two of its sides are parallel and two sides are not.
    • The area, A,A, of a trapezoid is A=12h(b+B)A=12h(b+B).

    Example 3.3.13

    Find the area of a trapezoid whose height is 6 inches and whose bases are 1414 and 1111 inches.

    Answer
    Step 1. Read the problem. Draw the figure and label it with the given information. .
    Step 2. Identify what you are looking for. the area of the trapezoid
    Step 3. Name. Choose a variable to represent it. Let A= the area of the trapezoid.
    Step 4.Translate.
    Write the appropriate formula.
    Substitute.

    .
    Step 5. Solve the equation. .
    Step 6. Check: Is this answer reasonable?

    If we draw a rectangle around the trapezoid that has the same big base BB and a height h,h, its area should be greater than that of the trapezoid.

    If we draw a rectangle inside the trapezoid that has the same little base bb and a height h,h, its area should be smaller than that of the trapezoid.

    A table is shown with 3 columns and 4 rows. The first column has an image of a trapezoid with a rectangle drawn around it in red. The larger base of the trapezoid is labeled 14 and is the same as the base of the rectangle. The height of the trapezoid is labeled 6 and is the same as the height of the rectangle. The smaller base of the trapezoid is labeled 11. Below this is A sub rectangle equals b times h. Below is A sub rectangle equals 14 times 6. Below is A sub rectangle equals 84 square inches. The second column has an image of a trapezoid. The larger base is labeled 14, the smaller base is labeled 11, and the height is labeled 6. Below this is A sub trapezoid equals one-half times h times parentheses little b plus big B. Below this is A sub trapezoid equals one-half times 6 times parentheses 11 plus 14. Below this is A sub trapezoid equals 75 square inches. The third column has an image of a trapezoid with a red rectangle drawn inside of it. The height is labeled 6. Below this is A sub rectangle equals b times h. Below is A sub rectangle equals 11 times 6. Below is A sub rectangle equals 66 square inches.

    The area of the larger rectangle is 8484 square inches and the area of the smaller rectangle is 6666 square inches. So it makes sense that the area of the trapezoid is between 8484 and 6666 square inches

    Step 7. Answer the question. The area of the trapezoid is 75 square inches.

    Your Turn 3.3.13

    The height of a trapezoid is 1414 yards and the bases are 77 and 1616 yards. What is the area?

    Example 3.3.14

    Find the area of a trapezoid whose height is 55 feet and whose bases are 10.310.3 and 13.713.7 feet.

    Answer
    Step 1. Read the problem. Draw the figure and label it with the given information. .
    Step 2. Identify what you are looking for. the area of the trapezoid
    Step 3. Name. Choose a variable to represent it. Let A = the area
    Step 4.Translate.
    Write the appropriate formula.
    Substitute.

    .
    Step 5. Solve the equation. .
    Step 6. Check: Is this answer reasonable?
    The area of the trapezoid should be less than the area of a rectangle with base 13.7 and height 5, but more than the area of a rectangle with base 10.3 and height 5.
    An image of a trapezoid is shown with a red rectangle drawn around it. The larger base of the trapezoid is labeled 13.7 ft. and is the same as the base of the rectangle. The height of both the trapezoid and the rectangle is 5 ft. Next to this is an image of a trapezoid with a black rectangle drawn inside it. The smaller base of the trapezoid is labeled 10.3 ft. and is the same as the base of the rectangle. Below the images is A sub red rectangle is greater than A sub trapezoid is greater than A sub rectangle. Below this is 68.5, 60, and 51.5.
    Step 7. Answer the question. The area of the trapezoid is 60 square feet.

    Your Turn 3.3.14

    The height of a trapezoid is 77 centimeters and the bases are 4.64.6 and 7.47.4 centimeters. What is the area?


    This page titled 3.3: Use Properties of Rectangles, Triangles, and Trapezoids is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by OpenStax.