College Math Placement Practice Test

What is the area of a triangle with a base of 10 and height of 5?

1. 20

2. 25

3. 30

4. 35

The correct answer is: 25

To determine the area of a triangle, the formula used is: \[ \text{Area} = \frac{1}{2} \times \text{base} \times \text{height} \] In this case, the base is given as 10 units and the height is given as 5 units. By substituting these values into the formula, we have: \[ \text{Area} = \frac{1}{2} \times 10 \times 5 \] Calculating this step-by-step: 1. Multiply the base and the height: \( 10 \times 5 = 50 \) 2. Then, take half of that product: \( \frac{1}{2} \times 50 = 25 \) Thus, the area of the triangle is 25 square units. This confirms that the answer is indeed 25. Understanding this process shows how critical it is to apply the area formula correctly for a triangle, which relies on both the base length and the height. Other values like 20, 30, or 35 do not match the calculated area, thereby reinforcing the effectiveness of the formula given the specified dimensions.