sat suite question viewer
A total of paper straws of equal length were used to construct two types of polygons: triangles and rectangles. The triangles and rectangles were constructed so that no two polygons had a common side. The equation represents this situation, where is the number of triangles constructed and is the number of rectangles constructed. What is the best interpretation of in this context?
Explanation
Choice A is correct. It's given that paper straws of equal length were used to construct triangles and rectangles, where no two polygons had a common side. It's also given that the equation represents this situation, where is the number of triangles constructed and is the number of rectangles constructed. The equation means that if , then . Substituting for and for in yields , or , which is true. Therefore, in this context, the equation means that if triangles were constructed, then rectangles were constructed.
Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.
Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.
Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.