Question the-li
- The line segment slants gradually up from left to right.
- The line segment begins at the point (negative 6 comma 4).
- The line segment ends at the point (3 comma 10).
The line segment shown in the xy-plane represents one of the legs of a right triangle. The area of this triangle is square units. What is the length, in units, of the other leg of this triangle?
The line segment slants gradually up from left to right. The line segment begins at the
Hard-difficulty · SAT Math · Area and Volume — Area of polygons and composite shapes. 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 length of a segment in the xy-plane can be found using the distance formula, , where and are the endpoints of the segment. The segment shown has endpoints at and . Substituting and for and , respectively, in the distance formula yields , or , which is equivalent to , or . Let represent the length, in units, of the other leg of this triangle. The area, , of a right triangle can be calculated using the formula , where and are the lengths of the legs of the triangle. It's given that the area of the triangle is square units. Substituting for , for , and for in the formula yields . Multiplying both sides of this equation by yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Multiplying the numerator and denominator on the left-hand side of this equation by yields , or , which is equivalent to , or . Therefore, the length, in units, of the other leg of this triangle is .
Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.
Choice C is incorrect. is equivalent to , which is the length, in units, of the line segment shown in the xy-plane, not the length, in units, of the other leg of the triangle.
Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.
More Area and Volume practice questions
- A right rectangular prism has a height of 9 inches. The length of the
- The volume of right circular cylinder A is 22 cubic centimeters. What is the
- A sphere has a radius of 17 5 feet. What is the volume, in
- A right circular cylinder has a base diameter of 22 centimeters and a height
- A right circular cone has a volume of 71,148 π cubic centimeters and the
- A cube has a surface area of 54 square meters. What is the volume,
- A manufacturing company produces two sizes of cylindrical containers that each have a
- The glass pictured above can hold a maximum volume of 473 cubic centimeters, which
Browse all Additional Topics in Math practice questions or return to the full SAT question bank.
