For a right angle triangle the hypotenuse is 5 and base is 3. What is the area of the triangle? Select
A) 6
B) 7
C) 8
D) 9
E) 10

Rationale: as we know that for a right angle triangle the are is 1 / 2 * base * height we know the base = 3 we need to calculate the height hypotenuse = h = 5 base = b = 3 height = c = ? as per pythagoras h ^ 2 = b ^ 2 + c ^ 2 5 ^ 2 = 3 ^ 2 + c ^ 2 25 = 9 + c ^ 2 c ^ 2 = 25 - 9 c ^ 2 = 16 c = 4 height = 4 area = 1 / 2 * base * height = 1 / 2 * 3 * 4 = 6 square units ans : a
Answer: A