Mathematics Knowledge Answer and Explanation to Question on Triangles

In working as an ASVAB tutor, I focus very heavily on Mathematics Knowledge.  One of the 15 subtopics I present in Mathematics Knowledge is the topic of triangles.

Yesterday I presented a question on Mathematic Knowledge.

The question is about the area of a triangle.

The question is:

If the area of a triangle is 20 and the base is 5, what is the height?

  1. 4
  2. 8
  3. 12
  4. 15

The formula for the area of a triangle is ½ x base x height.

In this question, we have the area and the base and need to figure out the height.

A = ½ x base x height

20 = ½ x 5 x h

40 = 5h

8 = h

The height is 8.  The correct answer is choice B. 8.