PSAT Math : Triangles

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for PSAT Math

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #3 : Triangles

Triangle ABC is drawn between the points A(4, 3), B(4, 8), and C(7, 3). What is the area of ABC?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Drawing a quick sketch of this triangle will reveal that it is a right triangle. The lines AB and AC form the height and base of this triangle interchangeably, depending on how you look at it.

Either way the formula for the area of the triangle is the distance from A to B multiplied by the distance from A to C, divided by 2.

This is 

Example Question #3 : Triangles

A right triangle has a total perimeter of 12, and the length of its hypotenuse is 5. What is the area of this triangle?

Possible Answers:

15

12

10

6

3

Correct answer:

6

Explanation:

The area of a triangle is denoted by the equation 1/2 b x h.

 

b stands for the length of the base, and h stands for the height.

 

Here we are told that the perimeter (total length of all three sides) is 12, and the hypotenuse (the side that is neither the height nor the base) is 5 units long.

 

So, 12-5 = 7 for the total perimeter of the base and height.

 

7 does not divide cleanly by two, but it does break down into 3 and 4,

and 1/2 (3x4) yields 6.

 

Another way to solve this would be if you recall your rules for right triangles, one of the very basic ones is the 3,4,5 triangle, which is exactly what we have here

Example Question #3 : How To Find The Area Of A Right Triangle

The ratio for the side lengths of a right triangle is 3:4:5. If the perimeter is 48, what is the area of the triangle?

 

Possible Answers:

96

108

240

50

48

Correct answer:

96

Explanation:

We can model the side lengths of the triangle as 3x, 4x, and 5x. We know that perimeter is 3x+4x+5x=48, which implies that x=4. This tells us that the legs of the right triangle are 3x=12 and 4x=16, therefore the area is A=1/2 bh=(1/2)(12)(16)=96.

 

 

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

The length of one leg of an equilateral triangle is 6. What is the area of the triangle?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The base is equal to 6.

The height of an quilateral triangle is equal to , where is the length of the base.

Example Question #524 : Geometry

Triangle

Note: Figure NOT drawn to scale.

Refer to the above diagram. In terms of area,  is what fraction of ?

Possible Answers:

Insufficient information is given to answer the question.

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The area of a triangle is half the product of its base and its height.

The area of  is

The area of  is

 

Therefore,  is  of .

Note that actually finding the measure of  is not necessary.

Example Question #1 : How To Find If Right Triangles Are Congruent

You are given triangles   and ,with  and  both right angles, and . Which of these statements, along with what you are given, is not enough to prove that ?

I) 

II) 

III)  and  have the same area.

Possible Answers:

None of the three statements is enough to prove congruence.

Any of the three statements is enough to prove congruence.

Statement II only

Statement I only

Statement III only

Correct answer:

Any of the three statements is enough to prove congruence.

Explanation:

, and the right angles are  and , so we have two right triangles with congruent legs.

If we also know that , then the hypotenuses of the right triangles are also congruent, and this sets up the conditions of the Hypotenuse-Leg Theorem.

If we also know that , then, along with the fact that  (both being right angles) and nonincluded sides , the conditions of the Angle-Angle-Side Theorem are set up.

If we also know  and  have the same area, we can demonstrate that the other legs are congruent. The area of a right triangle is half the product of its legs, and since we have the same areas,

Since ,

The legs and the included angles (the right angles) are congruent, thus setting up the conditions for the Angle-Side-Angle Postulate. 

In all three cases, congruence follows, so the correct response is "Any of the three statements is enough to prove congruence."

Example Question #1 : Right Triangles

Acute angles x and y are inside a right triangle. If x is four less than one third of 21, what is y?

Possible Answers:

90

7

3

87

18

Correct answer:

87

Explanation:

We know that the sum of all the angles must be 180 and we already know one angle is 90, leaving the sum of x and y to be 90.

Solve for x to find y.

One third of 21 is 7. Four less than  7 is 3. So if angle x is 3 then that leaves 87 for angle y.

Example Question #1 : Triangles

If a right triangle has one leg with a length of 4 and a hypotenuse with a length of 8, what is the measure of the angle between the hypotenuse and its other leg?

Possible Answers:

30

90

60

65

45

Correct answer:

30

Explanation:

The first thing to notice is that this is a 30o:60o:90o triangle. If you draw a diagram, it is easier to see that the angle that is asked for corresponds to the side with a length of 4. This will be the smallest angle. The correct answer is 30.

Example Question #1 : How To Find An Angle In A Right Triangle

Triangle

In the figure above, what is the positive difference, in degrees, between the measures of angle ACB and angle CBD?

Possible Answers:

20

50

40

30

10

Correct answer:

10

Explanation:

In the figure above, angle ADB is a right angle. Because side AC is a straight line, angle CDB must also be a right angle.

Let’s examine triangle ADB. The sum of the measures of the three angles must be 180 degrees, and we know that angle ADB must be 90 degrees, since it is a right angle. We can now set up the following equation.

x + y + 90 = 180

Subtract 90 from both sides.

x + y = 90

Next, we will look at triangle CDB. We know that angle CDB is also 90 degrees, so we will write the following equation:

y – 10 + 2x – 20 + 90 = 180

y + 2x + 60 = 180

Subtract 60 from both sides.

 y + 2x = 120

We have a system of equations consisting of x + y = 90 and y + 2x = 120. We can solve this system by solving one equation in terms of x and then substituting this value into the second equation. Let’s solve for y in the equation x + y = 90.

x + y = 90

Subtract x from both sides.

y = 90 – x

Next, we can substitute 90 – x into the equation y + 2x = 120.

(90 – x) + 2x = 120

90 + x = 120

x = 120 – 90 = 30

x = 30

Since y = 90 – x, y = 90 – 30 = 60.

The question ultimately asks us to find the positive difference between the measures of ACB and CBD. The measure of ACB = 2x – 20 = 2(30) – 20 = 40 degrees. The measure of CBD = y – 10 = 60 – 10 = 50 degrees. The positive difference between 50 degrees and 40 degrees is 10. 

The answer is 10.

Example Question #1 : Right Triangles

Which of the following sets of line-segment lengths can form a triangle?

Possible Answers:

2,3,5

10,15,25

7,9,16

5,12,17

5,12,13

Correct answer:

5,12,13

Explanation:

In any given triangle, the sum of any two sides is greater than the third.  The incorrect answers have the sum of two sides equal to the third.

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors