Thread: Can anyone solve this Isosceles triangle problem

A landscape designer uses 8-foot timbers to form a pattern of isosceles triangles along the wall of a building. If the area of each triangle is 24 square feet, and the two equal sides are 8 feet each, what is the base?

So this is the problem:
Side A = 8 feet
Side B = 8 feet
Side C = X
Area = 24 square feet

Could someone answer this and explain how the answer was found?
I'm currently studying modeling with Linear and Quadratic Functions if that helps.

Call the length of side C (= your X), and the heigth of the triangle
Then, using the known area of the triangle, and using the Pythagoras theorem
Substitute for in the second equation and then solve this as a quadratic in
(I calculate , or . But you should check these results.)
(And remember to double them for the length of C.)