Question:
The areas of two similar triangles ABC and PQR are in the ratio 9 : 16. If BC = 4.5 cm, find the length of QR.
Solution:
It is given that $\triangle A B C \sim \triangle P Q R$.
Therefore, the ratio of the areas of these triangles will be equal to the ratio of squares of their corresponding sides.
$\frac{\operatorname{ar}(\triangle A B C)}{\operatorname{ar}(\triangle P Q R)}=\frac{B C^{2}}{Q R^{2}}$
$\Rightarrow \frac{9}{16}=\frac{4.5^{2}}{Q R^{2}}$
$\Rightarrow Q R^{2}=\frac{4.5 \times 4.5 \times 16}{9}$
$\Rightarrow Q R=\sqrt{\frac{4.5 \times 4.5 \times 16}{9}}$
$=\frac{4.5 \times 4}{3}$
$=6 \mathrm{~cm}$
Hence, QR = 6 cm