All High School Math Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : How To Find The Length Of The Side Of A Rectangle
A rectangle has a width of and a diagonal of . What is its perimeter?
Not enough information to solve
We are given the rectangle's diagonal and width and are asked to find its perimeter. The diagonal forms two right triangles within the rectangle; therefore, we can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the length of the rectangle's missing side. Then we can use the formula to find the perimeter of the rectangle.
In our case, we can rename the variables to match our triangle.
Now we can calculate the perimeter.
Example Question #2 : How To Find The Length Of The Side Of A Rectangle
Your dad shows you a rectangular scale drawing of your house. The drawing is 6 inches by 8 inches. You're trying to figure out the actual length of the shorter side of the house. If you know the actual length of the longer side is 64 feet, what is the actual length of the shorter side of the house (in feet)?
36
81
60
32
48
48
We can solve this by setting up a proportion and solving for x,the length of the shorter side of the house. If the drawing is scale and is 6 : 8, then the actual house is x : 64. Then we can cross multiply so that 384 = 8x. We then divide by 8 to get x = 48.
Example Question #1 : How To Find The Length Of The Diagonal Of A Rectangle
What is the diagonal of a rectangle with a side length of 5 and a base of 8? (Round to the nearest tenth)
To find the diagonal of a rectangle we must use the side lengths to create a 90 degree triangle with side lengths of 5, 8, and a hypotenuse which is equal to the diagonal.
If we have a right angle triangle and a value for two of the three side lengths, we use the Pythagorean Theorem to solve for the length of the third side.
The two side lengths that meet to form the right angle are labeled and which are interchangeable for each side length.
The long length connecting them is labeled and is known as the hypotenuse.
The Pythagorean Theorem states
Take 5 and 8 and plug them into the equation as and to yield
First square the numbers
After squaring the numbers add them together
Once you have the sum, square root both sides
After calculating our answer for the diagonal is .
Example Question #1 : How To Find The Length Of The Diagonal Of A Rectangle
What is the length of the diagonal of a rectangle that is 3 feet long and 4 feet wide?
The diagonal of the rectangle is equivalent to finding the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle with sides 3 and 4. Using the Pythagorean Theorem:
Therefore the diagonal of the rectangle is 5 feet.
Example Question #2 : How To Find The Length Of The Diagonal Of A Rectangle
The length and width of a rectangle are in the ratio of 3:4. If the rectangle has an area of 108 square centimeters, what is the length of the diagonal?
15 centimeters
24 centimeters
18 centimeters
12 centimeters
9 centimeters
15 centimeters
The length and width of the rectangle are in a ratio of 3:4, so the sides can be written as 3x and 4x.
We also know the area, so we write an equation and solve for x:
(3x)(4x) = 12x2 = 108.
x2 = 9
x = 3
Now we can recalculate the length and the width:
length = 3x = 3(3) = 9 centimeters
width = 4x = 4(3) = 12 centimeters
Using the Pythagorean Theorem we can find the diagonal, c:
length2 + width2 = c2
92 + 122 = c2
81 + 144 = c2
225 = c2
c = 15 centimeters
Example Question #1 : How To Find The Area Of A Rectangle
A contractor is going to re-tile a rectangular section of the kitchen floor. If the floor is 6ft x 3ft, and he is going to use square tiles with a side of 9in. How many tiles will be needed?
32
2
24
40
32
We have to be careful of our units. The floor is given in feet and the tile in inches. Since the floor is 6ft x 3ft. we can say it is 72in x 36in, because 12 inches equals 1 foot. If the tiles are 9in x 9in we can fit 8 tiles along the length and 4 tiles along the width. To find the total number of tiles we multiply 8 x 4 = 32. Alternately we could find the area of the floor (72 x 36, and divide by the area of the tile 9 x 9)
Example Question #1 : How To Find The Area Of A Rectangle
The rectangular bathroom floor in Michael’s house is ten feet by twelve feet. He wants to purchase square tiles that are four inches long and four inches wide to cover the bathroom floor. If each square tile costs $2.50, how much money will Michael need to spend in order to purchase enough tiles to cover his entire bathroom floor?
$5400
$2700
$1920
$1080
$4800
$2700
The dimensions for the bathroom are given in feet, but the dimensions of the tiles are given in inches; therefore, we need to convert the dimensions of the bathroom from feet to inches, because we can’t compare measurements easily unless we are using the same type of units.
Because there are twelve inches in a foot, we need to multiply the number of feet by twelve to convert from feet to inches.
10 feet = 10 x 12 inches = 120 inches
12 feet = 12 x 12 inches = 144 inches
This means that the bathroom floor is 120 inches by 144 inches. The area of Michael’s bathroom is therefore 120 x 144 in2 = 17280 in2.
Now, we need to find the area of the tiles in square inches and calculate how many tiles it would take to cover 17280 in2.
Each tile is 4 in by 4 in, so the area of each tile is 4 x 4 in2, or 16 in2.
If there are 17280 in2 to be covered, and each tile is 16 in2, then the number of tiles we need is 17280 ÷ 16, which is 1080 tiles.
The question ultimately asks us for the cost of all these tiles; therefore, we need to multiply 1080 by 2.50, which is the price of each tile.
The total cost = 1080 x 2.50 dollars = 2700 dollars.
The answer is $2700.
Example Question #1 : Quadrilaterals
Ron has a fixed length of wire that he uses to make a lot. On Monday, he uses the wire to make a rectangular lot. On Tuesday, he uses the same length of wire to form a square-shaped lot. Ron notices that the square lot has slightly more area, and he determines that the difference between the areas of the two lots is sixteen square units. What is the positive difference, in units, between the length and the width of the lot on Monday?
10
8
6
12
4
8
Let’s say that the rectangular lot on Monday has a length of l and a width of w. The area of a rectangular is the product of the length and the width, so we can write the area of the lot on Monday as lw.
Next, we need to find an expression for the area of the lot on Tuesday. We are told that the lot is in the shape of a square and that it uses the same length of wire. If the length of the wire used is the same on both days, then the perimeter will have to remain the same. In other words, the perimeter of the square will equal the perimeter of the rectangle. The perimeter of a rectangle is given by 2l + 2w.
We also know that if s is the length of a side of a square, then the perimeter is 4s, because each side of the square is congruent. Let’s write an equation that sets the perimeter of the rectangle and the square equal.
2l + 2w = 4s
If we divide both sides by 4 and then simplify the expression, then we can write the length of the square as follows:
Example Question #1 : How To Find The Area Of A Rectangle
A rectangle has a width of 2x. If the length is five more than 150% of the width, what is the area of the rectangle?
5x + 10
6x2 + 10x
5x + 5
10(x + 1)
6x2 + 5
6x2 + 10x
Given that w = 2x and l = 1.5w + 5, a substitution will show that l = 1.5(2x) + 5 = 3x + 5.
A = lw = (3x + 5)(2x) = 6x2 + 10x
Example Question #1 : How To Find The Area Of A Rectangle
Rectangle ABCD is shown in the figure above. Points A and B lie on the graph of y = 64 – x2 , and points C and D lie on the graph of y = x2 – 36. Segments AD and BC are both parallel to the y-axis. The x-coordinates of points A and B are equal to –k and k, respectively. If the value of k changes from 2 to 4, by how much will the area of rectangle ABCD increase?
88
272
176
544
352
176
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