PSAT Math : How to find the area of a rhombus

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for PSAT Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #11 : Rhombuses

A rhombus has a side length of 5. Which of the following is NOT a possible value for its area?

Possible Answers:

10

24

15

30

25

Correct answer:

30

Explanation:

The area of a rhombus will vary as the angles made by its sides change. The "flatter" the rhombus is (with two very small angles and two very large angles, say 2, 178, 2, and 178 degrees), the smaller the area is. There is, of course, a lower bound of zero for the area, but the area can get arbitrarily small. This implies that the correct answer would be the largest choice. In fact, the largest area of a rhombus occurs when all four angles are equal, i.e. when the rhombus is a square. The area of a square of side length 5 is 25, so any value bigger than 25 is impossible to acheive.

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