16Hit1600
Geometry and TrigonometryEasy–MediumDiagonal of a rectangular field

Geometry and Trigonometry practice question

A rectangular field is 30 metres wide and 40 metres long. What is the length, in metres, of a straight path from one corner of the field to the opposite corner?

Answer: 50

The path is the hypotenuse of a right triangle with legs 30 and 40: √(900 + 1,600) = √2,500 = 50.

Common wrong answers

If you answered 10
10 is 40 − 30. The diagonal is found with the Pythagorean theorem.
If you answered 70
70 is 30 + 40 — the distance along two sides, not the diagonal.
If you answered 2500
2,500 is 30² + 40²; take the square root for the length, 50.

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