Question

The area of a trapezium is 40 cm². If the parallel sides measure 6 cm and 10 cm, find its height.

Answer 1

Given:

• Area of trapezium A = 40 cm²
• Lengths of the parallel sides a = 6 cm and b = 10 cm
• Height h = ?

Stepwise calculation:

1. The formula for the area of a trapezium is:

`"Area" = 1/2 (a + b) xx h`

2. Substitute the known values:

`40 = 1/2 (6 + 10) xx h`

3. Simplify inside the bracket:

`40 = 1/2 xx 16 xx h`

4. Calculate half of 16:

40 = 8 × h

5. Solve for (h):

`h = 40/8`

h = 5 cm

The height of the trapezium is 5 cm.