Question
A triangular flag has a height of 15 inches and a base length of 25 inches. Magnolia makes a scale drawing of the flag in which the base length is 10 inches. What is the area of Magnolia’s scale drawing? Solve the problem by computing the actual area from the scale drawing. Show your work.
To find the area of Magnolia's scale drawing, we need to first find the scale factor by dividing the actual base length by the scale base length:
Scale factor = actual base length / scale base length
Scale factor = 25 inches / 10 inches
Scale factor = 2.5
Next, we need to find the actual height of the flag in the scale drawing by multiplying the scale factor by the scale height:
Actual height = scale factor x scale height
Actual height = 2.5 x 15 inches
Actual height = 37.5 inches
Now, we can calculate the area of the scale drawing:
Area of Magnolia's scale drawing = 1/2 x base length x height
Area of Magnolia's scale drawing = 1/2 x 10 inches x 37.5 inches
Area of Magnolia's scale drawing = 187.5 square inches
Therefore, the area of Magnolia's scale drawing is 187.5 square inches.