GED Math : Pythagorean Theorem

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GED Math

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #21 : Pythagorean Theorem

Find the area of rectangle  in the figure below.

2

Possible Answers:

The area of the rectangle cannot be found with the given information.

Correct answer:

Explanation:

2

Notice that the hypotenuse of the right triangle  is also the length of the rectangle.

Start by using Pythagorean's Theorem to find the length of .

Next, recall how to find the area of a rectangle:

Example Question #21 : Pythagorean Theorem

A right triangle has hypotenuse with length 20 and a leg of length 9. The length of the other leg is:

Possible Answers:

Between 16 and 17.

Between 15 and 16.

Between 18 and 19.

Between 17 and 18.

Correct answer:

Between 17 and 18.

Explanation:

By the Pythagorean Theorem, if we let be the length of the hypotenuse, or longest side, of a right triangle, and and be the lengths of the legs, the relation is

Set and , and solve for :

Square the numbers - that is, multiply them by themselves:

Subtract 81 from both sides to isolate :

To find out what integers falls between, it is necessary to find the perfect square integers that flank 319. We can see by trial and error that

,

so

The length of the second leg thus falls between 17 and 18.

 

Example Question #21 : Pythagorean Theorem

You recently bough a book end whose face forms a right triangle. You want to know the length of the longest side, but you don't have a ruler. Luckily, you know that the two shorter sides are 18 inches and 24 inches. Find the length of the last side.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

You recently bough a book end whose face forms a right triangle. You want to know the length of the longest side, but you don't have a ruler. Luckily, you know that the two shorter sides are 18 inches and 24 inches. Find the length of the last side.

The problem describes a right triangle with two known sides. Finding the last side sounds like a job for Pythagorean Theorem. If you look carefully, you might see another way.

So, recall the classic:

We know a and b, and we need to find c.

So our answer is 30.

The alternate way to solve this is to see that we have a 3/4/5 Pythagorean Triple.

This means that our side lengths follow the ratio 3:4:5

We can see this by dividing our two given sides by 6.

So our scale factor is 6. This means we can get our answer by multiplying 5 and 6

So we get the same thing. Keep an eye out for Pythagorean Triples when working with right triangles in order to solve problems faster!

Example Question #23 : Pythagorean Theorem

Find the perimeter of an isosceles trapezoid that has an upper base of , an altitude to the base of , and diagonals of .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Start by drawing out the trapezoid in question.

1

Notice that triangle  is a right triangle. Thus, we can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the length of segment .

Since we know that  is also , then that means the length of segment  must also be .

Now, we can use the Pythagorean Theorem again to find the length of .

Now we can find the perimeter of the entire isosceles trapezoid.

Make sure to round to two places after the decimal.

Example Question #23 : Pythagorean Theorem

A rectangle and circle share the same center as shown by the figure below.

5

Find the area of the circle.

 

Possible Answers:

The area of the circle cannot be determined.

Correct answer:

Explanation:

5a

Notice that the diagonal of the rectangle is also the diameter of the circle. We can use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the diagonal.

From this, we can find the radius of the circle.

Recall how to find the area of a circle.

Plug in the given radius.

Example Question #111 : Triangles

The the two legs of a right triangle have lengths of  inches and  inches, what is the hypotenuse (the longest side)?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

We need to use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the missing side;

The theorem says:

"For any right triangle, with legs  and  and hypotenuse , the formula  can be used to find any missing side of this triangle."

So, we are given  and  in the question...

We will plug them into the theorem:

Simplify:

Simplify:

Add:

To find , we must take the square root of both sides:

So..

Reduce:

Simplify:

 

Example Question #21 : Pythagorean Theorem

The hypotenuse of a right triangle is  and one of its legs measures . What is the length of the triangle's other leg? Round to the nearest hundredth.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

For this problem, you just need to remember your handy Pythagorean theorem. Remember that it is defined as:

where  and  are the legs of the triangle, and  is the hypotenuse. Remember, however, that this only works for right triangles. Thus, based on your data, you know:

or

Subtracting 484 from each side of the equation, you get:

Using your calculator to calculate the square root, you get:

Rounding, this is , so the triangle's other leg measures .

Example Question #22 : Pythagorean Theorem

The hypotenuse of a right triangle is  and one of its leg measures . What is the length of the triangle's other leg? Round to the nearest hundredth.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

For this problem, you just need to remember your handy Pythagorean theorem. Remember that it is defined as:

where  and  are the legs of the triangle, and  is the hypotenuse. Remember, however, that this only works for right triangles. Thus, based on your data, you know:

or

Subtracting 1056784 from each side of the equation, you get:

Using your calculator to calculate the square root, you get:

The length of the missing side of the triangle is .

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors