Let's denote the length of side AB as "a", side BC as "b", and side AC as "c".
Since triangle ABC is isosceles, we have AB = AC. The height BH acts as an altitude and also a perpendicular bisector of base BC, which means that BH divides BC into two equal segments.
Let's denote each of these segments as "x". So, we have BC = 2x.
Using the Pythagorean theorem, we can write the following equations:
AB^2 = BH^2 + AH^2 BC^2 = BH^2 + CH^2
Since BH is the height, we have AH = CH = BH.
Substituting the values, we get:
a^2 = BH^2 + BH^2 b^2 = BH^2 + BH^2
Simplifying, we have:
a^2 = 2BH^2 b^2 = 2BH^2
Since AB = AC, we can substitute a with c in the first equation:
c^2 = 2BH^2
Substituting the given base length of BC = 16 cm, we have:
16^2 = 2BH^2
256 = 2BH^2
Divide both sides by 2:
128 = BH^2
Taking the square root of both sides:
BH = √128 = 8√2
Now, substitute BH in the equations for a^2 and b^2:
a^2 = 2(8√2)^2 = 2(642) = 256 b^2 = 2(8√2)^2 = 2(642) = 256
Taking the square root of both sides, we get:
a = √256 = 16 b = √256 = 16
So, the lengths of the sides of the triangle are a = 16 cm, b = 16 cm, c = 16 cm.
