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Area and volume SAT question

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

A right triangle has sides of length , , and  units. What is the area of the triangle, in square units?

ExplanationShow

Choice B is correct. The area, , of a triangle can be found using the formula , where is the length of the base of the triangle and is the height of the triangle. It's given that the triangle is a right triangle. Therefore, its base and height can be represented by the two legs. It’s also given that the triangle has sides of length , , and units. Since  units is the greatest of these lengths, it's the length of the hypotenuse. Therefore, the two legs have lengths and units. Substituting these values for and in the formula  gives , which is equivalent to square units, or square units.

Choice A is incorrect. This expression represents the perimeter, rather than the area, of the triangle.

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

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

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