The image shows a table at a restaurant in the shape of a trapezoid. The restaurant owners want to determine if trapezoidal tables will fit comfortably into the rest of the dining room. The owners make a scale drawing of the dining room and a scale drawing of the table. If the greatest length of the table is represented in the scale drawing by 1.5 feet, what will the length of the other sides of the table be? Write your answer in decimal form.
If the greatest length of the table is 1.5 feet in the scale drawing, we can assume that the length of the other sides of the table will be proportional to this length.
Let's say the other side of the trapezoid is x feet long. We can set up a proportion to find the length of the other sides:
1.5 feet / x feet = 1 side / x side
1.5 / x = 1 / x
Cross multiply to solve for x:
1.5x = x
1.5 = 1
Therefore, the length of the other sides of the trapezoidal table will also be 1.5 feet each, in decimal form this is 1.5.