Question a-righ
A right triangle has sides of length , , and units. What is the area of the triangle, in square units?
A right triangle has sides of length 2 2 , 6 2 , and 80 units.
Hard-difficulty · SAT Math · Right Triangles & Trigonometry — Pythagorean theorem. Read the question above, select your answer, and check the full explanation below to understand exactly why the correct choice works.
Answer explanation
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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