Carcass wrote:
If the perimeter of an isosceles right triangle is \(16 + 16 \sqrt{2}\) inches long, how long is one of the perpendicular sides?
(A) \(4 \sqrt{2}\)
(B) 4
(C) \(8 \sqrt{2}\)
(D) 8
(E) \(16 \sqrt{2}\)
Kudos for the right answer and explanation
Question part of the project GRE Quantitative Reasoning Daily Challenge - (2021) EDITIONGRE - Math BookThe length the sides of an isosceles right triangle look like this:
So the given information is telling us that:
\(x + x + x\sqrt{2} = 16 + 16 \sqrt{2}\)At this point, it's probably fastest to start testing some answer choices.
Notice that if \(x=8\), we get:
\(8 + 8 + 8\sqrt{2} = 16 + 16 \sqrt{2}\)Simplify to get:
\(16 + 8\sqrt{2} = 16 + 16 \sqrt{2}\)This result tells us two things:
1) \(x=8\) is NOT a solution to the above equation, since
\(16 + 8\sqrt{2} \neq 16 + 16 \sqrt{2}\)2) Since
\(16 + 8\sqrt{2} < 16 + 16 \sqrt{2}\), the actual
solution to the equation must be GREATER THAN 8.
This means we can eliminate A, B and D
Let's now test \(x = 8\sqrt{2}\)
We get:
\(8\sqrt{2} + 8\sqrt{2} + (8\sqrt{2})(\sqrt{2}) = 16 + 16 \sqrt{2}\)Simplify:
\(16\sqrt{2} + 16 = 16 + 16 \sqrt{2}\)Perfect!
Answer: C