ISEE Upper Level Quantitative : Quadrilaterals

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for ISEE Upper Level Quantitative

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : How To Find The Length Of The Side Of A Trapezoid

Trapezoid

In the above diagram, which depicts Trapezoid  and . Which is the greater quantity?

(a) 

(b) 24

Possible Answers:

(a) is the greater quantity

It is impossible to determine which is greater from the information given

(a) and (b) are equal

(b) is the greater quantity

Correct answer:

(b) is the greater quantity

Explanation:

To see that (b) is the greater quantity of the two, it suffices to construct the midsegment of the trapezoid - the segment which has as its endpoints the midpoints of legs  and . Since  and , the midsegment, , is positioned as follows:

 

Trapezoid

The length of the midsegment is half the sum of the bases, so

, so .

Example Question #2 : How To Find The Length Of The Side Of A Trapezoid

Trapezoid 1

Figure NOT drawn to scale.

The above figure depicts Trapezoid  with midsegment , and .

Give the area of Trapezoid  in terms of .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The midsegment of a trapezoid has as its length half the sum of the lengths of the bases, which here are  and :

Therefore, 

The area of Trapezoid  is one half multiplied by the height, , multiplied by the sum of the lengths of the bases,  and . The midsegment of a trapezoid bisects both legs, so , and the area is

Example Question #3 : How To Find The Length Of The Side Of A Trapezoid

Trapezoid 1

The above figure depicts Trapezoid  with midsegment . Express  in terms of .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The midsegment of a trapezoid has as its length half the sum of the lengths of the bases, which here are  and :

The correct choice is .

Example Question #11 : Trapezoids

Given Trapezoid , where  . Also,  

Which is the greater quantity?

(a) 

(b) 

Possible Answers:

(b) is greater

It is impossible to tell from the information given

(a) is greater

(a) and (b) are equal

Correct answer:

(a) is greater

Explanation:

 and  are same-side interior angles, as are  and 

The Same-Side Interior Angles Theorem states that if two parallel lines are crossed by a transversal, then the sum of the measures of a pair of same-side interior angles is always . Therefore, 

, or 

, or 

Substitute:

(a) is the greater quantity

Example Question #12 : Trapezoids

Consider trapezoid , where  . Also,  is acute and  is obtuse.

Which is the greater quantity?

(a) 

(b) 

Possible Answers:

(a) and (b) are equal.

(a) is greater.

(b) is greater.

It is impossible to tell from the information given.

Correct answer:

(b) is greater.

Explanation:

 and  are same-side interior angles, as are  and 

The Same-Side Interior Angles Theorem states that if two parallel lines are crossed by a transversal, then same-side interior angles are supplementary. A pair of supplementary angles comprises either two right angles, or one acute angle and one obtuse angle. Since   is acute and  is obtuse,  is obtuse and  is acute. Therefore  the greater measure of the two, making (b) greater.

Example Question #13 : Trapezoids

Trapezoid

The above diagram depicts trapezoid . Which is the greater quantity?

(a) 

(b) 

Possible Answers:

(b) is greater.

(a) is greater.

(a) and (b) are equal.

It is impossible to tell from the information given.

Correct answer:

(a) and (b) are equal.

Explanation:

;  and  are same-side interior angles, as are  and .

The Same-Side Interior Angles Theorem states that if two parallel lines are crossed by a transversal, then the sum of the measures of a pair of same-side interior angles is always .

Therefore, , making the two quantities equal.

Example Question #1 : Parallelograms

Parallelogram

In the above parallelogram,  is acute. Which is the greater quantity?

(A) The area of the parallelogram

(B) 120 square inches

Possible Answers:

(B) is greater

It is impossible to determine which is greater from the information given

(A) and (B) are equal

(A) is greater

Correct answer:

(B) is greater

Explanation:

Since  is acute, a right triangle can be constructed with an altitude as one leg and a side as the hypotenuse, as is shown here. The height of the triangle must be less than its sidelength of 8 inches.

Parallelogram

The height of the parallelogram must be less than its sidelength of 8 inches.

The area of the parallelogram is the product of the base and the height - which is 

 Therefore, 

(B) is greater.

 

Example Question #1 : How To Find The Area Of A Parallelogram

Parallelogram A is below:

Rhombus_1

Parallelogram B is below:

Parallelogram

Note: These figures are NOT drawn to scale.

Refer to the parallelograms above. Which is the greater quantity?

(A) The area of parallelogram A

(B) The area of parallelogram B

Possible Answers:

(B) is greater

It is impossible to determine which is greater from the information given

(A) is greater

(A) and (B) are equal

Correct answer:

(A) and (B) are equal

Explanation:

The area of a parallelogram is the product of its height and its base; its slant length is irrelevant. Both parallelograms have the same height (8 inches) and the same base (1 foot, or 12 inches), so they have the same areas.

Example Question #1 : Parallelograms

Parallelogram

Figure NOT drawn to scale

The above figure shows Rhombus  and  are midpoints of their respective sides. Rectangle  has area 150. 

Give the area of Rhombus .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

A rhombus, by definition, has four sides of equal length. Therefore, . Also, since  and  are the midpoints of their respective sides, 

We will assign  to the common length of the four half-sides of the rhombus.

Also, both  and  are altitudes of the rhombus; the are congruent, and we will call their common length  (height).

The figure, with the lengths, is below.

Rhombus

Rectangle  has dimensions  and ; its area, 150, is the product of these dimensions, so

The area of the entire Rhombus  is the product of its height  and the length of a base , so

.

Example Question #1 : Parallelograms

Parallelogram

In the above parallelogram,  is acute. Which is the greater quantity?

(A) The perimeter of the parallelogram

(B) 46 inches

Possible Answers:

(A) is greater

(A) and (B) are equal

(B) is greater

It is impossible to determine which is greater from the information given

Correct answer:

(A) and (B) are equal

Explanation:

The measure of  is actually irrelevant. The perimeter of the parallelogram is the sum of its four sides; since opposite sides of a parallelogram have the same length, the perimeter is

 inches, 

making the quantities equal.

 

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