Geometry: Common Core (15th Edition)

Published by Prentice Hall
ISBN 10: 0133281159
ISBN 13: 978-0-13328-115-6

Chapter 5 - Relationships Within Triangles - 5-1 Midsegments of Triangles - Practice and Problem-Solving Exercises - Page 288: 20

Answer

$x = 4.5$

Work Step by Step

From the diagram, we have a line segment that joins the midpoint of two sides of a triangle. According to the triangle midsegment theorem, if a line segment joins two sides of a triangle at their midpoints, then that line segment is parallel to the third side of that triangle and is half as long as that third side. Knowing this information, we can deduce that this line segment is half of the length of the third side to which it is parallel. Let's set up that equation accordingly: $45 = 2(5x)$ Multiply on the right side of the equation: $45 = 10x$ Divide each side of the equation by $10$ to solve for $x$: $x = 4.5$
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