Question in-tri
In triangles and , angles and each have measure , , and . Which additional piece of information is sufficient to prove that triangle is similar to triangle ?
and
and
The measures of angles and are and , respectively.
The measures of angles and are and , respectively.
In triangles L M N and R S T , angles L and R each have
Hard-difficulty · SAT Math · Lines, Angles, and Triangles — Triangle sum 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 D is correct. Two triangles are similar if they have three pairs of congruent corresponding angles. It’s given that angles and each measure , and so these corresponding angles are congruent. If angle is , then angle must be so that the sum of the angles in triangle is . If angle is , then angle must be so that the sum of the angles in triangle is . Therefore, if the measures of angles and are and , respectively, then corresponding angles and are both , and corresponding angles and are both . It follows that triangles and have three pairs of congruent corresponding angles, and so the triangles are similar. Therefore, the additional piece of information that is sufficient to prove that triangle is similar to triangle is that the measures of angles and are and , respectively.
Choice A is incorrect. If the measures of two sides in one triangle are proportional to the corresponding sides in another triangle and the included angles are congruent, then the triangles are similar. However, the two sides given are not proportional and the angle given is not included by the given sides.
Choice B is incorrect. If the measures of two sides in one triangle are proportional to the corresponding sides in another triangle and the included angles are congruent, then the triangles are similar. However, the angle given is not included between the proportional sides.
Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.
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