^^^ the area of a right triangle is 60 ft2. the base of the triangle is 8 ft. what is the length of the hypotenuse? show your work. don’t forget to label your answer. hint: what is the area formula for a triangle?

What is the formula for the area of a triangle?  A = 1/2 bh, right? If we let b = the length of the base, then the height is b + 7, seven feet greater than the base. Put in the info we have.  A = 1/2 bh                                   15 = 1/2 b(b+7)                                  30 =  b2 + 7b                                    0 = b2 + 7b - 30 Since we can't factor the equation, it's time to pull out the old quadratic formula. x = -b + √(b2 - 4ac) / 2a   =  -7 + √49 - 4(1)(-30) / 2 = = -7 + √169 / 2  -7 +13 / 2 = 3               -7 - 13 / 2 = -10 We can't have a negative length, so our base is 3.  This makes the height 10. Let's check.  1/2(3)(10) = 15.  Good to go!