ACT Question of the Day #32

If a rectangle measures 42 meters by 56 meters, what is the length, in meters, of the diagonal of the rectangle?

A.  48
B.  49
C.  70
D.  98
E.  196

The answer is:  C.  70

Strategic Advice: Draw a picture to help you see which concept is being tested.

Getting to the Answer:
The diagonal of the rectangle forms two right triangles. Each triangle
is actually a multiple of the 3:4:5 triangle, but that’s a little hard to see with such
a large multiple. The diagonal, which is the hypotenuse of each right triangle, is
562 + 422 = 4,900 = 70