Basic Geometry : Triangles

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Basic Geometry

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : How To Find If Right Triangles Are Congruent

Complete the congruence statement

29

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Since we know that , we know that  is also a right angle and is thus congruent to .

We are given that .  Furthermore, since  and  are vertical angles, they are also congruent.  

Therefore, we have enough evidence to conclude congruence by Angle-Side-Angle.  Vertex  matches up with , vertex  matches up with , and  matches up to . Thus, our congruence statement should look the following

Example Question #4 : How To Find If Right Triangles Are Congruent

Figures  and  are triangles.

 

Triangles_3

Are  and  congruent?

Possible Answers:

There is not enough information given to answer this question.

Yes.

No.

Correct answer:

Yes.

Explanation:

We know that congruent triangles have equal corresponding angles and equal corresponding sides.  We are given that the corresponding sides are equal and are in the ratio of .  A triangle whose sides are in this ratio is a , where the shortest side lies opposite the  angle, the longest side is the hypotenuse and lies opposite the right angle, and the third side lies opposite the  angle. (Remember .) So we know the corresponding angles are equal. Therefore, the triangles are congruent.

Example Question #491 : Triangles

Figures  and  are triangles.

Triangles_3

Are  and  congruent?

Possible Answers:

There is not enough information given to answer this question.

Yes.

No.

Correct answer:

Yes.

Explanation:

We know that congruent triangles have equal corresponding angles and equal corresponding sides.  We are given that the corresponding sides are equal and are in the ratio of .

Simplify the ratio by dividing by 

Thus, the corresponding sides are in the ratio  and we know both triangles are  triangles. Since the corresponding angles and the corresponding sides are equal, the triangles are congruent.

Example Question #6 : How To Find If Right Triangles Are Congruent

Figures  and  are triangles.


Triangles_3

Are  and  congruent?

Possible Answers:

Yes.

There is not enough information given to answer this question.

No.

Correct answer:

Yes.

Explanation:

We know that congruent triangles have equal corresponding angles and equal corresponding sides.  We are given that the corresponding sides are equal, and the measures of two angles.  We know that  and  because the sum of the angles of a triangle must equal . So the corresponding angles are also equal.  Therefore, the triangles are congruent.

Example Question #7 : How To Find If Right Triangles Are Congruent

Figures  and  are triangles.

Triangles_4

Are  and  congruent?

Possible Answers:

Yes.

There is not enough information given to answer this question.

No.

Correct answer:

Yes.

Explanation:

We know that congruent triangles have equal corresponding angles and equal corresponding sides.  We are given that the corresponding sides are equal, and the measures of two angles.  We know that  and  because the sum of the angles of a triangle must equal . So the corresponding angles are also equal.  Therefore, the triangles are congruent.

Example Question #4 : How To Find If Right Triangles Are Congruent

Figures  and  are triangles.

Triangles_4

Are  and  congruent?

Possible Answers:

Yes.

There is not enough information given to answer this question.

No.

Correct answer:

Yes.

Explanation:

We know that congruent triangles have equal corresponding angles and equal corresponding sides.  We are given that the corresponding sides are equal and are in the ratio of .  A triangle whose sides are in this ratio is a , where the shorter sides lies opposite the  angles, and the longer side is the hypotenuse and lies opposite the right angle. So we know the corresponding angles are equal. Therefore, the triangles are congruent.

Example Question #2 : How To Find If Right Triangles Are Congruent

Figures  and  are triangles.

Triangles_4

Are  and  congruent?

Possible Answers:

Yes.

There is not enough information given to answer this question.

No.

Correct answer:

Yes.

Explanation:

We know that congruent triangles have equal corresponding angles and equal corresponding sides.  We are given that the corresponding sides are equal and are in the ratio of .

Simplify the ratio by dividing by 

Thus, the corresponding sides are in the ratio  and we know both triangles are  triangles. Since the corresponding angles and the corresponding sides are equal, the triangles are congruent.

Example Question #1481 : Plane Geometry

Are these right triangles congruent?

Congruent right triangles

Possible Answers:

Cannot be determined - we need at least one pair of angles, or all three sides 

No - at least one pair of corresponding sides is not congruent 

No - the angles are different

Yes - all three pairs of sides must be congruent by Pythagorean Theorem

Yes - by the angle-angle-side theorem

Correct answer:

Yes - all three pairs of sides must be congruent by Pythagorean Theorem

Explanation:

Right now we can't directly compare these triangles because we do not know all three side lengths. However, we can use Pythagorean Theorem to determine both missing sides. The left triangle is missing the hypotenuse: 

The right triangle is missing one of the legs:

subtract 2,304 from both sides

This means that the two triangles both have side lengths 48, 55, 73, so they must be congruent.

 

Example Question #1481 : Basic Geometry

The hypotenuse and acute angle are given for several triangles. Which if any are congruent? Triangle A- Hypotenuse=15; acute angle=56 degrees. Triangle B- Hypotenuse=18; acute angle=56 degrees. Triangle C-Hypotenuse=18; acute angle= 45 degrees.

Possible Answers:

A & C

All three.

B & C

None of these

A & B

Correct answer:

None of these

Explanation:

The correct answer is none of these. There are several pairs of angles and sides or sides and angles that must be the same in order for two triangles to be congruent.

In our case, we need the acute angle and the hypotenuse to both be equal. No two triangles above have this relationship and therefore no two are congruent. 

Example Question #1483 : Basic Geometry

Given:  and .

 and  are both right angles.

True or false: From the above information, it follows that .

Possible Answers:

True

False

Correct answer:

True

Explanation:

If we seek to prove that , then , and  correspond to , and , respectively.

By the Hypotenuse-Leg Theorem (HL), if the hypotenuse and one leg of a triangle are congruent to those of another, the triangles are congruent. 

 and  are both right angles, so  and  are both right triangles.  and  are congruent corresponding sides, and moreover, since, each includes the right-angle vertex as an endpoint, they are congruent corresponding legs.  and  are opposite the right angles, making them congruent corresponding hypotenuses.

The conditions of HL are satisfied, so .

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