Lengths III

Geometry is one of the most important topics for CAT and other management entrance exams, questions
from which have appeared consistently and in significant numbers in all these exams.

Key concepts discussed:

A line passing through the midpoint of another line is known as the bisector of the second line.
A line that passes through the midpoint of another line and perpendicular to the line is known as the
perpendicular bisector of the line.
Bisector of an angle is equidistant from its arms.
Sum of any two sides of a triangle is always greater than the third side and difference of any two
sides is always less than the third side.
If two sides of a triangle are a and b, and angle between them is ' ', then the third side c of the

triangle can be calculated by using the equation c 2 = a2 + b2 2abcos .

If a, b and c are the lengths of sides of a triangle ABC opposite to vertices A, B and C respectively,

a
b
c
=
=
.
sin A sinB sinC
In a right angled triangle, the square of hypotenuse is equal to the sum of squares of the remaining
two sides i.e. the sides that contain the right angle.
In an acute angled triangle, the square of any side is less than the sum of squares of the remaining
two sides.
In an obtuse angled triangle, the square of side opposite to obtuse angle is more than the sum of the
squares of the remaining two sides.

then

The height of an equilateral triangle of side a is equal to

3
a.
2

AB
BD
=
.
AC
DC
A line drawn from a vertex of a triangle that divides the opposite side into two equal parts is known
as the median of the triangle.
Medians of a triangle are concurrent and divide each other in the ratio 2 : 1.
If AD is the median drawn from vertex A to side BC in a triangle ABC, then
(AB2 + AC2) = 2(AD2 + BD2). This is known as Appolonius Theorem.
Corresponding angles of similar triangles are equal and the ratios of their corresponding sides are
equal.

If AD is the angular bisector of A in a triangle ABC, then

Highlight: This session deals with questions which are based on properties of right angled triangle, square
and circle. Questions in the session are of moderate difficulty level.

Session

Geometry

The questions discussed in the session are given below along with their source.
Q1.

In the triangle ABC, AB = 6, BC = 8 and AC = 10. A perpendicular dropped from B, meets the side
AC at D. A circle of radius BD (with center B) is drawn. If the circle cuts AB and BC at P and Q
respectively, the AP:QC is equal to
(a) 1 : 1
(b) 3 : 2
(c) 4 : 1
(d) 3 : 8
(CAT 2003 (L))

Q2.

ABCD is a square of area 4, which is divided into four non-over lapping triangles as shown in figure.
Then the sum of the perimeters of the triangles is

(a) 8(2 + 2)

(b) 8(1+ 2)

(c) 4(1 + 2)

(d) 4(2 + 2)
(CAT 1995)

Q3.

Consider a cylinder of height h cm and radius r = 2 cm as shown in the figure (not drawn to scale).

A string of a certain length, when wound on its cylindrical surface, starting at point A and ending at
point B, gives a maximum of n turns (in other words, the strings length is the minimum length
required to wind n turns). What is the vertical spacing between the two consecutive turns?

B
n

3
2
1

(a)

h
cm
n

(b)

h
n

cm

(c)

h
n2

cm

(d) Cannot be determined

(CAT 2003 (R))

Geometry

Session

Q4.

In the figure below, the rectangle at the corner measures 10 cm 20 cm. The corner A of the
rectangle is also a point on the circumference of the circle. What is the radius of the circle in cm?

(a) 10 cm

(b) 40 cm

(c) 50 cm

(d) None of the above

(CAT 2003 (L))

Session

Geometry