How to find the area of a hexagon

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ISEE Upper Level Quantitative Reasoning › How to find the area of a hexagon

Questions 1 - 1
1

Which is the greater quantity?

(a) The area of a regular hexagon with sidelength 1

(b) The area of an equilateral triangle with sidelength 2

(a) is greater

(b) is greater

(a) and (b) are equal

It is impossible to tell from the information given

Explanation

A regular hexagon with sidelength can be seen as a composite of six equilateral triangles, each with sidelength . Since area is in direct proportion to the square of the sidelength, the area of the equilateral triangle with sidelength is equal to that of four of those triangles. This makes the hexagon greater in area, and it makes (a) the greater quantity.