Problem:
In a right trapezoid () the angle at vertex measures . Point is the foot of the perpendicular from point to the line . If and , find the area of .
Problem:
In a right trapezoid () the angle at vertex measures . Point is the foot of the perpendicular from point to the line . If and , find the area of .
Solution:
Produce the legs of the trapezoid until they intersect at point . The triangles and are congruent (ASA). The area of is equal to area of triangle of hypotenuse
Let be the midpoint of . Then
and . Now, the altitude from to equals one half of , namely . Finally, the area is .