All ISEE Upper Level Quantitative Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : How To Find The Area Of A Triangle
Triangle B has a height that is twice that of Triangle A and a base that is one-half that of Triangle A. Which is the greater quantity?
(a) The area of Triangle A
(b) The area of Triangle B
It is impossible to tell from the information given.
(a) and (b) are equal.
(b) is greater.
(a) is greater.
(a) and (b) are equal.
Let and be the base and height of Triangle A. Then the base and height of Triangle B are and , respectively.
(a) The area of Triangle A is .
(b) The area of Triangle B is .
Therefore, (a) and (b) are equal.
Example Question #2 : How To Find The Area Of A Triangle
Two triangles on the coordinate plane have a vertex at the origin and a vertex at , where .
Triangle A has its third vertex at .
Triangle B has its third vertex at .
Which is the greater quantity?
(a) The area of Triangle A
(b) The area of Triangle B
It is impossible to tell from the information given
(b) is greater
(a) and (b) are equal
(a) is greater
(b) is greater
(a) Triangle A has as its base the horizontal segment connecting and , the length of which is 10. Its (vertical) altitude is the segment from to this horizontal segment, which is part of the -axis; its height is therefore the -coordinate of this point, or .
The area of Triangle A is therefore
(b) Triangle B has as its base the vertical segment connecting and , the length of which is 10. Its (horizontal) altitude is the segment from to this vertical segment, which is part of the -axis; its height is therefore the -coordinate of this point, or .
The area of Triangle B is therefore
, so . (b), the area of Triangle B, is greater.
Example Question #2 : How To Find The Area Of A Triangle
A triangle has sides 30, 40, and 80. Give its area.
None of the other responses is correct
None of the other responses is correct
By the Triangle Inequality Theorem, the sum of the lengths of the two shorter sides of a triangle must exceed the length of its longest side. However,
;
Therefore, this triangle cannot exist, and the correct answer is "none of the other responses is correct".
Example Question #1 : How To Find The Area Of A Triangle
The above depicts Square ; , and are the midpoints of , , and , respectively. Which is the greater quantity?
(a) The area of
(b) The area of
It is impossible to determine which is greater from the information given
(b) is the greater quantity
(a) and (b) are equal
(a) is the greater quantity
(a) and (b) are equal
For the sake of simplicity, assume that the square has sidelength 2; this reasoning is independent of the actual sidelength.
Since , , and are the midpoints of their respective sides, , as shown in this diagram.
The area of , it being a right triangle, is half the product of the lengths of its legs:
The area of is half the product of the length of a base and the height. Using as the base, and as an altitude:
The two triangles have the same area.
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