Question ID 81b664bc 2.
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Lines, angles, and
Trigonometry triangles
ID: 81b664bc
In the figure above, , , and are parallel. Points B and E lie on
and , respectively. If , and , what is the
length of , to the nearest tenth?
A. 16.8
B. 17.5
C. 18.4
D. 19.6
ID: 81b664bc Answer
Correct Answer: B
Rationale
Choice B is correct. Since , , and are parallel, quadrilaterals and are similar. Let x
represent the length of . With similar figures, the ratios of the lengths of corresponding sides are equal. It
follows that . Multiplying both sides of this equation by 18.5 and by x yields , or
. Dividing both sides of this equation by 9 yields , which to the nearest tenth is 17.5.
Choices A, C, and D are incorrect and may result from errors made when setting up the proportion.
Question Difficulty: Medium
Question ID 94364a79 2.2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Lines, angles, and
Trigonometry triangles
ID: 94364a79
Two nearby trees are perpendicular to the ground, which is flat. One of these trees is feet tall and has a
shadow that is feet long. At the same time, the shadow of the other tree is feet long. How tall, in feet, is the
other tree?
A.
B.
C.
D.
ID: 94364a79 Answer
Correct Answer: B
Rationale
Choice B is correct. Each tree and its shadow can be modeled using a right triangle, where the height of the
tree and the length of its shadow are the legs of the triangle. At a given point in time, the right triangles formed
by two nearby trees and their respective shadows will be similar. Therefore, if the height of the other tree is ,
in feet, the value of can be calculated by solving the proportional relationship . This
equation is equivalent to , or . Multiplying each side of the equation by yields .
Therefore, the other tree is tall.
Choice A is incorrect and may result from calculating the difference between the lengths of the shadows,
rather than the height of the other tree.
Choice C is incorrect and may result from calculating the difference between the height of the -foot-tall tree
and the length of the shadow of the other tree, rather than calculating the height of the other tree.
Choice D is incorrect and may result from a conceptual or calculation error.
Question Difficulty: Medium
Question ID 933fee1a 2.3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Lines, angles, and
Trigonometry triangles
ID: 933fee1a
Triangles ABC and DEF are shown above. Which of the
following is equal to the ratio ?
A.
B.
C.
D.
ID: 933fee1a Answer
Correct Answer: B
Rationale
Choice B is correct. In right triangle ABC, the measure of angle B must be 58° because the sum of the measure
of angle A, which is 32°, and the measure of angle B is 90°. Angle D in the right triangle DEF has measure 58°.
Hence, triangles ABC and DEF are similar (by angle-angle similarity). Since is the side opposite to the
angle with measure 32° and AB is the hypotenuse in right triangle ABC, the ratio is equal to .
Alternate approach: The trigonometric ratios can be used to answer this question. In right triangle ABC, the
ratio . The angle E in triangle DEF has measure 32° because . In
triangle DEF, the ratio . Therefore, .
Choice A is incorrect because is the reciprocal of the ratio . Choice C is incorrect because
, not . Choice D is incorrect because , not .
Question Difficulty: Medium
Question ID a4c05a1b 2.4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Lines, angles, and
Trigonometry triangles
ID: a4c05a1b
In the figure shown, lines and are parallel, and line intersects both lines. If , which of the following
must be true?
A.
B.
C.
D.
ID: a4c05a1b Answer
Correct Answer: B
Rationale
Choice B is correct. In the figure shown, the angle measuring is congruent to its vertical angle formed by
lines and , so the measure of the vertical angle is also . The vertical angle forms a same-side interior
angle pair with the angle measuring . It's given that lines and are parallel. Therefore, same-side interior
angles in the figure are supplementary, which means the sum of the measure of the vertical angle and the
measure of the angle measuring is , or . Subtracting from both sides of this equation
yields . Substituting for in the inequality yields . Adding to both
sides of this inequality yields . Subtracting from both sides of this inequality yields ,
or . Thus, if , it must be true that .
Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.
Choice C is incorrect. must be equal to, not less than, .
Choice D is incorrect. must be equal to, not greater than, .
Question Difficulty: Medium
Question ID d3fe472f 2.5
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Lines, angles, and
Trigonometry triangles
ID: d3fe472f
Triangle is similar to triangle , such that , , and correspond to , , and respectively. The
length of each side of triangle is times the length of its corresponding side in triangle . The measure
of side is . What is the measure of side ?
A.
B.
C.
D.
ID: d3fe472f Answer
Correct Answer: D
Rationale
Choice D is correct. It's given that triangle is similar to triangle , such that , , and correspond
to , , and , respectively. Therefore, side corresponds to side . Since the length of each side of
triangle is times the length of its corresponding side in triangle , it follows that the measure of
side is times the measure of side . Thus, since the measure of side is , then the measure of
side is , or .
Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.
Choice B is incorrect. This is the measure of side , not side .
Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.
Question Difficulty: Medium
Question ID fd8745fc 2.6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Lines, angles, and
Trigonometry triangles
ID: fd8745fc
In triangle , the measures of and are each . What is the measure of , in degrees? (Disregard
the degree symbol when entering your answer.)
ID: fd8745fc Answer
Correct Answer: 84
Rationale
The correct answer is . The sum of the measures of the interior angles of a triangle is . It's given that in
triangle , the measures of and are each . Adding the measures, in degrees, of and
gives , or . Therefore, the measure of , in degrees, is , or .
Question Difficulty: Medium
Question ID 901e3285 2.7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Lines, angles, and
Trigonometry triangles
ID: 901e3285
In triangle ABC, the measure of angle A is . If triangle ABC is isosceles,
which of the following is NOT a possible measure of angle B ?
A.
B.
C.
D.
ID: 901e3285 Answer
Correct Answer: D
Rationale
Choice D is correct. The sum of the three interior angles in a triangle is . It’s given that angle A measures
. If angle B measured , the measure of angle C would be . Thus, the
measures of the angles in the triangle would be , , and . However, an isosceles triangle has two
angles of equal measure. Therefore, angle B can’t measure .
Choice A is incorrect. If angle B has measure , then angle C would measure , and
, , and could be the angle measures of an isosceles triangle. Choice B is incorrect. If angle B has
measure , then angle C would measure , and , , and could be the angle
measures of an isosceles triangle. Choice C is incorrect. If angle B has measure , then angle C would
measure , and , , and could be the angle measures of an isosceles
triangle.
Question Difficulty: Medium
Question ID 1c3d613c 2.8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Lines, angles, and
Trigonometry triangles
ID: 1c3d613c
Triangle ABC and triangle DEF are shown. The relationship between the side
lengths of the two triangles is such that . If the
measure of angle BAC is 20°, what is the measure, in degrees, of angle EDF
? (Disregard the degree symbol when gridding your answer.)
ID: 1c3d613c Answer
Rationale
The correct answer is 20. By the equality given, the three pairs of corresponding sides of the two triangles are
in the same proportion. By the side-side-side (SSS) similarity theorem, triangle ABC is similar to triangle DEF.
In similar triangles, the measures of corresponding angles are congruent. Since angle BAC corresponds to
angle EDF, these two angles are congruent and their measures are equal. It’s given that the measure of angle
BAC is 20°, so the measure of angle EDF is also 20°.
Question Difficulty: Medium
Question ID 6dd463ca 2.9
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Lines, angles, and
Trigonometry triangles
ID: 6dd463ca
In the figure above, segments AE and BD are parallel. If angle BDC
measures 58° and angle ACE measures 62°, what is the measure of angle
CAE ?
A. 58°
B. 60°
C. 62°
D. 120°
ID: 6dd463ca Answer
Correct Answer: B
Rationale
Choice B is correct. It’s given that angle ACE measures . Since segments AE and BD are parallel, angles BDC
and CEA are congruent. Therefore, angle CEA measures . The sum of the measures of angles ACE, CEA, and
CAE is since the sum of the interior angles of triangle ACE is equal to . Let the measure of angle
CAE be . Therefore, , which simplifies to . Thus, the measure of angle CAE is .
Choice A is incorrect. This is the measure of angle AEC, not that of angle CAE. Choice C is incorrect. This is the
measure of angle ACE, not that of CAE. Choice D is incorrect. This is the sum of the measures of angles ACE
and CEA.
Question Difficulty: Medium
