Question

One triangle on a graph has a vertical side of 5 and a horizontal side of 11. Another triangle on a graph has a vertical side of 15 and a horizontal side of 33.

Could the hypotenuses of these two triangles lie along the same line?

Answer 1

Yes.

Explanation:

The two triangles are similar because they have:

• a common angle (90°)
• corresponding sides with lengths in a 3:1 ratio

All you need to do is to slide the smaller triangle into the larger one so that a small angle and one of its sides coincide.

Then the hypotenuses of each triangle will lie along the same line.