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Difficulty: 2/102024 NMTC 2024 (QII-65)

If the sides of two similar triangles are in the ratio 2:3, what is the ratio of their areas?

Guide / Hint

Hint 1: Recall how the ratio of the areas of similar triangles relates to the ratio of their corresponding side lengths.

Hint 2: The ratio of the areas is the square of the side ratio.

Hint 3: Square the fraction to find the area ratio.

Solution

Step 1 (State the Theorem): The Area Similarity Theorem states that the ratio of the areas of two similar triangles is equal to the square of the ratio of their corresponding sides.

Step 2 (Direct Calculation): We are given that the sides are in the ratio :

Step 3 (Conclusion): The ratio of their areas is exactly 4:9 (or 4/9).

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