Question Bank / Math / Right Triangles and Trigonometry

Right triangles and trigonometry SAT question

Math · Geometry and Trigonometry · Easy · Answer it here, explanation included.

  • One angle is a right angle.
  • The length of the side opposite the right angle is 19.
  • The lengths of the other 2 sides are as follows:
    • b
    • 4
  • A note indicates the figure is not drawn to scale.

Which equation shows the relationship between the side lengths of the given triangle?

ExplanationShow

Choice C is correct. The Pythagorean theorem states that in a right triangle, the sum of the squares of the lengths of the two legs is equal to the square of the length of the hypotenuse. Therefore, , where and are the lengths of the legs and is the length of the hypotenuse. For the given right triangle, the lengths of the legs are and , and the length of the hypotenuse is . Substituting for and for in the equation  yields . Thus, the relationship between the side lengths of the given triangle is .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Drill this skill on Aceit

Adaptive practice, a daily plan, and score tracking take a free account so we can save your work.

Practice this skill

More Right triangles and trigonometry questions