Trapezoids

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ISEE Upper Level Quantitative Reasoning › Trapezoids

Questions 1 - 10
1

One side of a regular pentagon is 20% longer than one side of a regular hexagon. Which is the greater quantity?

(A) The perimeter of the pentagon

(B) The perimeter of the hexagon

(A) and (B) are equal

(B) is greater

(A) is greater

It is impossible to determine which is greater from the information given

Explanation

Let be the length of one side of the hexagon. Then its perimeter is .

Each side of the pentagon is 20% greater than this length, or

.

The perimeter is five times this, or .

The perimeters are the same.

2

and are right triangles, with right angles , respectively.

Which is the greater quantity?

(a) The perimeter of

(b) The perimeter of

It is impossible to tell from the information given.

(a) and (b) are equal.

(a) is greater.

(b) is greater.

Explanation

No information is given about the legs of either triangle; therefore, no information about their perimeters can be deduced.

3

Trapezoid

The above diagram depicts trapezoid . Which is the greater quantity?

(a)

(b)

(a) and (b) are equal.

(a) is greater.

(b) is greater.

It is impossible to tell from the information given.

Explanation

; and are same-side interior angles, as are and .

The Same-Side Interior Angles Theorem states that if two parallel lines are crossed by a transversal, then the sum of the measures of a pair of same-side interior angles is always .

Therefore, , making the two quantities equal.

4

Given Trapezoid , where . Also,

Which is the greater quantity?

(a)

(b)

(a) is greater

(b) is greater

(a) and (b) are equal

It is impossible to tell from the information given

Explanation

and are same-side interior angles, as are and .

The Same-Side Interior Angles Theorem states that if two parallel lines are crossed by a transversal, then the sum of the measures of a pair of same-side interior angles is always . Therefore,

, or

, or

Substitute:

(a) is the greater quantity

5

A hexagon has six angles with measures

Which quantity is greater?

(a)

(b) 240

(a) and (b) are equal

(a) is greater

(b) is greater

It is impossible to tell from the information given

Explanation

The angles of a hexagon measure a total of . From the information, we know that:

The quantities are equal.

6

In a certain quadrilateral, three of the angles are , , and . What is the measure of the fourth angle?

Explanation

A quadrilateral has four angles totalling . So, first add up the three angles given. The sum is . Then, subtract that from 360. This gives you the missing angle, which is .

7

Trapezoid

In the above figure, is the midsegment of Trapezoid . Give the ratio of the area of Trapezoid to that of Trapezoid .

33 to 19

10 to 3

13 to 6

20 to 13

Explanation

Midsegment divides Trapezoid into two trapezoids of the same height, which we will call ; the length of the midsegment is half sum of the lengths of the bases:

.

The area of a trapezoid is one half multiplied by its height multiplied by the sum of the lengths of its bases. Therefore, the area of Trapezoid is

The area of Trapezoid is

The ratio of the areas is

, or 33 to 19.

8

Trapezoid

In the above figure, is the midsegment of Trapezoid .

Which is the greater quantity?

(a) Three times the area of Trapezoid

(b) Twice the area of Trapezoid

(b) is the greater quantity

(a) is the greater quantity

(a) and (b) are equal

It is impossible to determine which is greater from the information given

Explanation

Midsegment divides Trapezoid into two trapezoids of the same height, which we will call ; the length of the midsegment is half sum of the lengths of the bases:

The area of a trapezoid is one half multiplied by its height multiplied by the sum of the lengths of its bases. Therefore, the area of Trapezoid is

.

Three times this is

.

The area of Trapezoid is, similarly,

Twice this is

.

That makes (b) the greater quantity.

9

Trapezoid 1

The above figure depicts Trapezoid with midsegment . Express in terms of .

Explanation

The midsegment of a trapezoid has as its length half the sum of the lengths of the bases, which here are and :

The correct choice is .

10

Which is the greater quantity?

(a) The sum of the measures of the exterior angles of a thirty-sided polygon, one per vertex

(b) The sum of the measures of the exterior angles of a forty-sided polygon, one per vertex

(a) and (b) are equal

It is impossible to tell from the information given

(a) is greater

(b) is greater

Explanation

The Polygon Exterior-Angle Theorem states that the sum of the measures of the exterior angles of any polygon, one per vertex, is . This makes both quantities equal.

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