A designer wants to estimate the area of a trapezoid-shaped stage. Each square represents one square foot. The designer decides to find the area by composing a rectangle. What is the length of the base of the rectangle in feet?
To compose a rectangle from a trapezoid, the designer needs to determine the average width of the trapezoid. This can be done by finding the average of the two bases of the trapezoid.
Let's assume the two bases of the trapezoid are labeled as base 1 and base 2, and the height of the trapezoid is h. The formula for finding the area of a trapezoid is:
Area = 0.5 * (base1 + base2) * h
If the designer wants to find the area by composing a rectangle, the average width of the trapezoid can be used as the base of the rectangle. So the length of the base of the rectangle can be calculated as:
Base of rectangle = (base1 + base2) / 2
Therefore, to find the length of the base of the rectangle in feet, the designer should determine the average of the two bases of the trapezoid.