Use the image to answer the question.
An illustration shows a triangle with a base labeled 8 inches. A line runs through the center of the triangle from the apex to the base. This perpendicular height is labeled 5 inches.
Crystal cuts a piece of wood into the shape of a triangle. The height of the triangle is 5 inches, and the base of the triangle measures 8 inches. Crystal makes a scale drawing of the triangle. If the height of her scale drawing is 2 inches, what is the area of her scale drawing?
Since the scale drawing's height is 2 inches but the actual triangle's height is 5 inches, we can calculate the scale factor by dividing the height of the actual triangle by the height of the scale drawing: 5 inches / 2 inches = 2.5.
Next, we need to calculate the area of the scale drawing. The area of a triangle is given by the formula A = 0.5 * base * height.
For the scale drawing, the base is still 8 inches, but the height is now 2 inches. We'll use the scale factor to adjust the actual height to the scale drawing height: 5 inches / 2.5 = 2 inches.
Now we can calculate the area of the scale drawing:
A = 0.5 * 8 inches * 2 inches = 8 square inches.
Therefore, the area of Crystal's scale drawing is 8 square inches.