How to Scale Triangles | Calculating a Smaller Version of a Triangle – A Step-by-Step Guide

If the sides given are larger, divide down by the greatest common factor. Do the computations in the smaller triangle and then scale back up.

The concept you are referring to is known as scaling triangles

The concept you are referring to is known as scaling triangles. When the sides of a triangle are given as larger values, and you want to perform calculations on a smaller version of that triangle, you can do so by dividing the sides of the larger triangle by their greatest common factor (GCF). The GCF is the largest number that can evenly divide all the given values.

Let’s illustrate this with an example:
Suppose we have a triangle with sides of length 12 cm, 8 cm, and 10 cm. We want to perform calculations on a smaller version of this triangle.

Step 1: Find the GCF of the given side lengths. In this case, the GCF of 12, 8, and 10 is 2.

Step 2: Divide each side length by the GCF.
The new side lengths become:
12 cm / 2 = 6 cm
8 cm / 2 = 4 cm
10 cm / 2 = 5 cm

Step 3: Perform calculations on the smaller triangle with side lengths of 6 cm, 4 cm, and 5 cm.

Step 4: Scale back up to the original triangle by multiplying each side length of the smaller triangle by the GCF.
The original side lengths become:
6 cm * 2 = 12 cm
4 cm * 2 = 8 cm
5 cm * 2 = 10 cm

By following these steps, you can compute and analyze a smaller version of a given triangle and then scale back up to the original triangle using the concept of scaling.

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