Basic Geometry : Basic Geometry

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Basic Geometry

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Example Questions

Example Question #661 : Basic Geometry

Find the length of the square's diagonal.

Square_8

Possible Answers:

\(\displaystyle 4\sqrt5\)

\(\displaystyle 8\sqrt2\)

\(\displaystyle 11\)

\(\displaystyle 13\)

None of the other answers are correct.

Correct answer:

\(\displaystyle 8\sqrt2\)

Explanation:

The diagonal line cuts the square into two equal triangles.  Their hypotenuse is the diagonal of the square, so we can solve for the hypotenuse.

We need to use the Pythagorean Theorem: \(\displaystyle c^2=a^2+b^2\), where a and b are the legs and c is the hypotenuse.

The two legs have lengths of 8.  Plug this in and solve for c:

\(\displaystyle c^2=8^2+8^2=64+64=128\)

\(\displaystyle c=\sqrt{128}=\sqrt{2\cdot 64}=8\sqrt2\)

Example Question #5 : Squares

Find the length of the diagonal of a square that has side lengths of \(\displaystyle 4\) cm.

Possible Answers:

\(\displaystyle 4\sqrt{2}\) \(\displaystyle \text{cm}\)

\(\displaystyle 4\text{ cm}\)

\(\displaystyle 25\text{ cm}\)

\(\displaystyle 10\text{ cm}\)

\(\displaystyle 16\text{ cm}\)

Correct answer:

\(\displaystyle 4\sqrt{2}\) \(\displaystyle \text{cm}\)

Explanation:

You can do this problem in two different ways that lead to the final answer:

1. Pythagorean Theorem

2. Special Triangles (45-45-90)

1. For the first idea, use the Pythagorean Theorem: \(\displaystyle a^2 +b^2 =c^2\), where a and b are the side lengths of the square and c is the length of the diagonal.

\(\displaystyle 4^2+4^2=c^2\)

\(\displaystyle c^2=32\)

\(\displaystyle c=\sqrt{32}\)

\(\displaystyle c=\sqrt{16*2}=\sqrt{16}\, \times \sqrt{2} = 4\sqrt{2}\)

 

2. If you know that ALL squares can be made into two special right triangles such that their angles are 45-45-90, then there's a formula you could use:

Let's say that your side length of the square is "a". Then the diagonal of the square (or the hypotenuse of the right triangle) will be \(\displaystyle a\sqrt{2}\).

So using this with a=4:

\(\displaystyle 4\sqrt{2}\)

Example Question #384 : Plane Geometry

The perimeter of a square is 48. What is the length of its diagonal?

Possible Answers:

\(\displaystyle 12\sqrt{2}\)

\(\displaystyle 48\sqrt{2}\)

\(\displaystyle 24\sqrt{2}\)

\(\displaystyle 2\sqrt{12}\)

\(\displaystyle \sqrt{12}\)

Correct answer:

\(\displaystyle 12\sqrt{2}\)

Explanation:

Perimeter = side * 4

48 = side * 4

Side = 12

We can break up the square into two equal right triangles. The diagonal of the sqaure is then the hypotenuse of these two triangles.

Therefore, we can use the Pythagorean Theorem to solve for the diagonal:

\(\displaystyle side^2 + side^2 = hypotenuse^2\)

\(\displaystyle 12^2+12^2=hypotenuse^2\)

\(\displaystyle 144 + 144=hypotenuse^2\)

\(\displaystyle \sqrt{144+144}=\sqrt{hypotenuse^2}\)

\(\displaystyle hypotenuse=\sqrt{2\times 144}=\sqrt{2\times 12\times 12}=12\sqrt{2}\)

 

Example Question #2 : How To Find The Length Of The Diagonal Of A Square

The perimeter of a square is \(\displaystyle 28\) units. How many units long is the diagonal of the square?

Possible Answers:

\(\displaystyle 14\sqrt2\)

\(\displaystyle 14\sqrt3\)

\(\displaystyle 10\)

\(\displaystyle 7\sqrt2\)

\(\displaystyle 14\)

Correct answer:

\(\displaystyle 7\sqrt2\)

Explanation:

From the perimeter, we can find the length of each side of the square. The side lengths of a square are equal by definition therefore, the perimeter can be rewritten as,

\(\displaystyle 4s=28\)

\(\displaystyle s=7\)

Then we use the Pythagorean Theorme to find the diagonal, which is the hypotenuse of a right triangle with each leg being a side of the square.

\(\displaystyle a^2+b^2=c^2\)

\(\displaystyle 7^2+7^2=c^2\)

\(\displaystyle c=\sqrt{49+49}=\sqrt{98}=\sqrt{2\cdot49}=7\sqrt2\)

 

Example Question #8 : Squares

Find the length of the diagonal of the square with a side length of \(\displaystyle 4\).

Possible Answers:

\(\displaystyle 4.5\)

\(\displaystyle 4\sqrt2\)

\(\displaystyle 8\sqrt2\)

\(\displaystyle 4\)

Correct answer:

\(\displaystyle 4\sqrt2\)

Explanation:

The diagonal of a square is also a hypotenuse of a right triangle with the side lengths as legs of the triangle.

1

Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the diagonal.

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=\sqrt{\text{side length}^2+\text{side length}^2}\)

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=\sqrt{2(\text{side length})^2}\)

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=(\text{side length})\sqrt2\)

For the square given in the question,

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=4\sqrt2\)

Example Question #8 : Squares

Find the length of the diagonal of a square with side lengths of \(\displaystyle 10\).

Possible Answers:

\(\displaystyle 2\sqrt2\)

\(\displaystyle 20\sqrt2\)

\(\displaystyle 10\sqrt2\)

\(\displaystyle 5\sqrt2\)

Correct answer:

\(\displaystyle 10\sqrt2\)

Explanation:

The diagonal of a square is also a hypotenuse of a right triangle with the side lengths as legs of the triangle.

1

Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the diagonal.

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=\sqrt{\text{side length}^2+\text{side length}^2}\)

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=\sqrt{2(\text{side length})^2}\)

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=(\text{side length})\sqrt2\)

For the square given in the question,

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=10\sqrt2\)

Example Question #662 : Basic Geometry

Find the length of the diagonal of a square with side lengths of \(\displaystyle 15\).

Possible Answers:

\(\displaystyle 30\sqrt2\)

\(\displaystyle 7\sqrt2\)

\(\displaystyle 15\sqrt2\)

\(\displaystyle 15\)

Correct answer:

\(\displaystyle 15\sqrt2\)

Explanation:

The diagonal of a square is also a hypotenuse of a right triangle with the side lengths as legs of the triangle.

1

Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the diagonal.

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=\sqrt{\text{side length}^2+\text{side length}^2}\)

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=\sqrt{2(\text{side length})^2}\)

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=(\text{side length})\sqrt2\)

For the square given in the question,

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=15\sqrt2\)

Example Question #251 : Quadrilaterals

Find the length of the diagonal of a square with side lengths of \(\displaystyle 3\).

Possible Answers:

\(\displaystyle 9\sqrt2\)

\(\displaystyle 3\sqrt2\)

\(\displaystyle 3\)

\(\displaystyle 6\sqrt2\)

Correct answer:

\(\displaystyle 3\sqrt2\)

Explanation:

The diagonal of a square is also a hypotenuse of a right triangle with the side lengths as legs of the triangle.

1

Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the diagonal.

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=\sqrt{\text{side length}^2+\text{side length}^2}\)

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=\sqrt{2(\text{side length})^2}\)

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=(\text{side length})\sqrt2\)

For the square given in the question,

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=3\sqrt2\)

Example Question #663 : Basic Geometry

Find the length of the diagonal of a square with side lengths of \(\displaystyle 22\).

Possible Answers:

\(\displaystyle 11\sqrt2\)

\(\displaystyle 22\sqrt2\)

\(\displaystyle 15\sqrt2\)

\(\displaystyle 16\sqrt2\)

Correct answer:

\(\displaystyle 22\sqrt2\)

Explanation:

The diagonal of a square is also a hypotenuse of a right triangle with the side lengths as legs of the triangle.

1

Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the diagonal.

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=\sqrt{\text{side length}^2+\text{side length}^2}\)

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=\sqrt{2(\text{side length})^2}\)

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=(\text{side length})\sqrt2\)

For the square given in the question,

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=22\sqrt2\)

Example Question #664 : Basic Geometry

Find the length of the diagonal of a square with a side length of \(\displaystyle 12\).

Possible Answers:

\(\displaystyle 16\sqrt2\)

\(\displaystyle 6\sqrt2\)

\(\displaystyle 12\)

\(\displaystyle 12\sqrt2\)

Correct answer:

\(\displaystyle 12\sqrt2\)

Explanation:

The diagonal of a square is also a hypotenuse of a right triangle with the side lengths as legs of the triangle.

1

Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the diagonal.

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=\sqrt{\text{side length}^2+\text{side length}^2}\)

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=\sqrt{2(\text{side length})^2}\)

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=(\text{side length})\sqrt2\)

For the square given in the question,

\(\displaystyle \text{Diagonal}=12\sqrt2\)

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