Question

The height of the isosceles triangle divided the base in half. If the legs are 17 and the entire base is 8, what is the height of this isosceles triangle? Round to the nearest tenth if necessary.

Answer 1

The isosceles triangle divided the base in half and created 2 congruent right triangles.
The base of isosceles triangle = 8, so the leg of each right triangle = 8/2 = 4
The leg of isosceles triangle = 17. It's the hypo. of right triangle 
so 
x^2 = 17^2 - 4^2
x^2 = 289 - 16
x^2 = 273
x = √273
x = 16.5

Answer
Height of the isosceles triangle = 16.5