Question

1. apply in bhutanese architecture, the faces of buildings are trapezoids. if the row of decorative brick shown is 28.5 feet wide, what is the width of the base of the building?

Explanation:

Step1: Recall trapezoid midsegment formula

The length of the midsegment (decorative brick row) of a trapezoid is $\frac{1}{2}(b_1 + b_2)$, where $b_1$ is the top base, $b_2$ is the bottom base.

Step2: Plug in known values

Let $b_1=25$ ft, midsegment $=28.5$ ft.
$$28.5 = \frac{1}{2}(25 + b_2)$$

Step3: Solve for $b_2$

Multiply both sides by 2:
$$57 = 25 + b_2$$
Subtract 25 from both sides:
$$b_2 = 57 - 25 = 32$$

Answer:

32 ft