Question #N8

In the figure above, quadrilateral ABCD is a rectangle. The length of diagonal is $\sqrt{20}$ units. What is the area of the rectangle?
A. 4
B. 8
C. 10
D. 20

Correct Answer is: C

The diagonal of a rectangle divides the rectangle into two congruent right triangles. Since the diagonal is the hypotenuse of each of these right triangles, the Pythagorean Theorem gives us $a^2 + b^2 = (\sqrt{20})^2$, or $a^2 + b^2 = 20$, where $a$ and $b$ are the length and width of the rectangle, respectively. Since ABCD is a rectangle, the area is $ab$. Since the area is a product of two sides, the area will be a factor of 20. Of the choices, 10 is the only factor of 20, and the area of the rectangle is $ab = (2)(5) = 10$.