two rectangles are similar, If the length of the larger is 8 and the width is 5, find the width of the smaller rectangle if the length is 6
To find the width of the smaller rectangle, which is similar to the larger one, you can set up a proportion based on their corresponding sides.
We know that the length of the larger rectangle is 8, and the length of the smaller rectangle is 6. Let's represent the width of the larger rectangle as "w" and the width of the smaller rectangle as "x."
The proportion comparing the corresponding sides of the rectangles is:
(larger width) / (larger length) = (smaller width) / (smaller length)
Substituting the given values, we have:
5 / 8 = x / 6
To solve for "x," we can cross-multiply and then solve for "x."
5 * 6 = 8 * x
30 = 8x
Dividing both sides of the equation by 8 gives:
x = 30 / 8
x ≈ 3.75
Therefore, the width of the smaller rectangle is approximately 3.75 units.