All ISEE Upper Level Quantitative Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #71 : Triangles
The lengths of the hypotenuses of ten similar right triangles form an arithmetic sequence. The smallest triangle has legs of lengths 5 and 12 inches; the second-smallest triangle has a hypotenuse of length one and one half feet.
Which of the following responses comes closest to the area of the largest triangle?
5 square feet
7 square feet
3 square feet
6 square feet
4 square feet
4 square feet
The hypotenuse of the smallest triangle can be calculated using the Pythagorean Theorem:
inches.
Let be the lengths of the hypotenuses of the triangles in inches. and , so their common difference is
The arithmetic sequence formula is
The length of the hypotenuse of the largest triangle - the tenth triangle - can be found by substituting :
inches.
The largest triangle has hypotenuse of length 58 inches. Since the triangles are similar, corresponding sides are in proportion. If we let and be the lengths of the legs of the largest triangle, then
Similarly,
The area of a right triangle is half the product of its legs:
square inches.
Divide this by 144 to convert to square feet:
Of the given responses, 4 square feet is the closest, and is the correct choice.
Example Question #71 : Geometry
In Square . is the midpoint of , is the midpoint of , and is the midpoint of . Draw the segments and .
Which is the greater quantity?
(a) The area of
(b) The area of
(a) is the greater quantity
(b) is the greater quantity
It cannot be determined which of (a) and (b) is greater
(a) and (b) are equal
(a) and (b) are equal
The figure referenced is below:
Let be the common sidelength of Square .
Then .
The area of right triangle is half the product of its legs, so
, so
The area of right triangle is half the product of its legs, so
and have the same area.
Example Question #72 : Geometry
Figure NOT drawn to scale
Refer to the above diagram, in which is a right triangle with altitude . Which is the greater quantity?
(a) Four times the area of
(b) Three times the area of
(a) and (b) are equal
(a) is the greater quantity
(b) is the greater quantity
It is impossible to determine which is greater from the information given
(b) is the greater quantity
The altitude of a right triangle from the vertex of its right angle - which, here, is - divides the triangle into two triangles similar to each other. The ratio of the hypotenuse of to that of (which are corresponding sides) is
,
making this the similarity ratio. The ratio of the areas of two similar triangles is the square of their similarity ratio, which here is
, or .
Therefore, if is the area of and is the area of , it follows that
Four times the area of is ; three times the area of is
, so three times the area of is the greater quantity.
Example Question #73 : Geometry
Figure NOT drawn to scale.
Refer to the above diagram, in which is a right triangle with altitude . Which is the greater quantity?
(a) Twice the area of
(b) The area of
(a) is the greater quantity
(a) and (b) are equal
It is impossible to determine which is greater from the information given
(b) is the greater quantity
(b) is the greater quantity
The altitude of a right triangle from the vertex of its right angle - which, here, is - divides the triangle into two triangles similar to each other. Also, since measures 90 degrees and measure 30 degrees, measures 60 degrees, making a 30-60-90 triangle.
Because of this, the ratio of the measures of the legs of is
,
Since these legs coincide with the hypotenuses of and , this is also the similarity ratio of the latter to the former. The ratio of the areas is the square of this, or
Therefore, the area of is three times that of . This makes (b) the greater quantity.
Example Question #41 : Right Triangles
The above figure depicts Trapezoid . Which is the greater quantity?
(a) The area of
(b) The area of
(a) is the greater quantity
(a) and (b) are equal
It is impossible to determine which is greater from the information given
(b) is the greater quantity
(a) and (b) are equal
The area of a triangle is one half times the product of its height and the length of its base. As can be seen in the diagram below, both and have height and base of length :
Since both base length and height are the same between the two triangles, it follows that they have the same area.
Example Question #1 : Acute / Obtuse Isosceles Triangles
Two sides of a triangle have length 8 inches and 6 inches. Which of the following lengths of the third side would make the triangle isosceles?
All of the other choices are correct.
All of the other choices are correct.
An isosceles triangle, by definition, has two sides of equal length. Having the third side measure either 6 inches or 8 inches would make the triangle meet this criterion. Also, since 6 inches and 8 inches are equal to and , respectively, these also make the triangle isosceles. Therefore, the correct choice is that all four make the triangle isosceles.
Example Question #71 : Geometry
is an isosceles triangle with obtuse angle .
Which is the greater quantity?
(a)
(b)
(b) is greater.
(a) is greater.
It is impossible to tell from the information given.
(a) and (b) are equal.
(a) and (b) are equal.
A triangle must have at least two acute angles; if is obtuse, then and are the acute angles of . Since is isosceles, the Isosceles Triangle Theorem requires two of the angles to be congruent; they must be the two acute angles and . Also, the sides opposite these two angles are the congruent sides; these sides are and , respectively. This makes the quantities (a) and (b) equal.
Example Question #2 : Acute / Obtuse Isosceles Triangles
Note: Figure NOT drawn to scale.
Refer to the above diagram. Which expression is equivalent to ?
The correct answer is not among the other choices.
This is an isosceles triangle, so the left and right sides are of equal length. Draw the altitude of this triangle, as follows:
The altitude is a perpendicular bisector of the base; it is one leg of a right triangle with half the base, which is 15 inches, as the other leg, and one side, which is inches, as the hypotenuse. By definition,
(adjacent side divided by hypotenuse), so
Example Question #3 : Isosceles Triangles
Note: Figure NOT drawn to scale.
Which of the following is the greater quantity?
(A) The perimeter of the triangle
(B) 90
(A) is greater
(B) is greater
(A) and (B) are equal
It is impossible to determine which is greater from the information given
(A) is greater
The longest side of the triangle appears opposite the angle of greatest measure. The side of length 30 appears opposite an angle of measure . Therefore, the sides opposite the angles must have lengths greater than 30.
If we let this common length be , then
The perimeter of the triangle is therefore greater than 90.
Example Question #71 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Quantitative Reasoning
Examine the above diagram. If , give in terms of .
The two marked angles are same-side exterior angles of parallel lines, which are supplementary - that is, their measures have sum 180. We can solve for in this equation:
Certified Tutor
Certified Tutor