The area of rectangular region ABCD

2 Explanations

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Neema Fotoohi

How are they equal? If you take a line from G and drew it down, you'd get a right triangle. Essentially you're adding a rectangle plus a triangle. Wouldn't the trapezoid be larger as a result?

Jun 3, 2018 • Comment

David Recine, Magoosh Tutor

The trapezoid would be larger than the rectangle contained within it, yes. However, we're not trying to figure out the size of the trapezoid relative to a 5 by 4 rectangle contained within it. Instead, we're comparing the size of the trapezoid to a separate 8 by 3 rectangle. And on that basis, the trapezoid in the question and the separate 8 by 3 rectangle have equal area.

Jun 4, 2018 • Reply

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Chris Lele, Magoosh Tutor