Basic Geometry : Triangles

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Basic Geometry

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Example Questions

Example Question #506 : Geometry

What is the hypotenuse of a right triangle with side lengths  and ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The Pythagorean Theorem states that . This question gives us the values of and , and asks us to solve for .

Take  and  and plug them into the equation as  and :

Now we can start solving for :

The length of the hypotenuse is .

Example Question #125 : Act Math

One leg of a triangle measures 12 inches. Which of the following could be the length of the other leg if the hypotenuse is an integer length?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

By the Pythagorean Theorem, if  is the hypotenuse and  and  are the legs, .

Set , the known leg, and rewrite the above as:

We can now substitute each of the five choices for ; the one which yields a whole number for  is the correct answer choice.

:

 

:

 

:

 

:

 

:

 

The only value of  which yields a whole number for the hypotenuse  is 16, so this is the one we choose.

Example Question #431 : Geometry

Figure6

Find the perimeter of the polygon.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Divide the shape into a rectangle and a right triangle as indicated below.

Figure7

Find the hypotenuse of the right triangle with the Pythagorean Theorem, , where  and  are the legs of the triangle and  is its hypotenuse. 

This is our missing length.

Now add the sides of the polygon together to find the perimeter:

Example Question #432 : Geometry

The lengths of the sides of a right triangle are consecutive integers, and the length of the shortest side is . Which of the following expressions could be used to solve for ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Since the lengths of the sides are consecutive integers and the shortest side is , the three sides are , , and .

We then use the Pythagorean Theorem:

 

 

Example Question #433 : Geometry

Square  is on the coordinate plane, and each side of the square is parallel to either the -axis or -axis. Point  has coordinates and point  has the coordinates .

Quantity A:  5\sqrt{2}

Quantity B: The distance between points  and

Possible Answers:

Quantity A is greater.

 

The two quantities are equal.

 

The relationship cannot be determined from the information provided.

 

Quantity B is greater.

 

Correct answer:

The two quantities are equal.

 

Explanation:

To find the distance between points  and , split the square into two 45-45-90 triangles and find the hypotenuse. The side ratio of the 45-45-90 triangle is , so if the sides have a length of 5, the hypotenuse must be 5\sqrt{2}.

Example Question #281 : Triangles

Given the two perpendicular sides of a triangle are  and , find the hypotenuse.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the length of the hypotenuse, you must use the pythagorean theorem.

Example Question #52 : How To Find The Length Of The Hypotenuse Of A Right Triangle : Pythagorean Theorem

Find the length of the hypotenuse of the following right triangle.

1

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Recall the Pythagorean Theorem, which is used to find the length of the hypotenuse.

For any triangle with leg lengths of  and ,

13

Take the square root of both sides to find the length of the hypotenuse.

Plug in the given values to find the length of the hypotenuse.

Example Question #11 : Apply The Pythagorean Theorem To Determine Unknown Side Lengths In Right Triangles: Ccss.Math.Content.8.G.B.7

Find the length of the hypotenuse of the following right triangle.

2

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Recall the Pythagorean Theorem, which is used to find the length of the hypotenuse.

For any triangle with leg lengths of  and ,

13

Take the square root of both sides to find the length of the hypotenuse.

Plug in the given values to find the length of the hypotenuse.

Example Question #12 : Apply The Pythagorean Theorem To Determine Unknown Side Lengths In Right Triangles: Ccss.Math.Content.8.G.B.7

Find the length of the hypotenuse of the following right triangle.

3

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Recall the Pythagorean Theorem, which is used to find the length of the hypotenuse.

For any triangle with leg lengths of  and ,

13

Take the square root of both sides to find the length of the hypotenuse.

Plug in the given values to find the length of the hypotenuse.

Example Question #12 : Apply The Pythagorean Theorem To Determine Unknown Side Lengths In Right Triangles: Ccss.Math.Content.8.G.B.7

Find the length of the hypotenuse of the following right triangle.

4

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Recall the Pythagorean Theorem, which is used to find the length of the hypotenuse.

For any triangle with leg lengths of  and ,

13

Take the square root of both sides to find the length of the hypotenuse.

Plug in the given values to find the length of the hypotenuse.

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