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Area of the shaded part?

A hard-level "Area" problem.Spot a pair of parallel lines and try sliding a vertex. The unwanted number drops out and the answer depends on just one square.

GivenA square of side 6 cm and one of side 10 cm stand side by side. A line joins the bottom-left corner A to the top-right corner D.

Area ★★★★☆☆ Area of the shaded part? 6cm 10cm AD

Hints

  1. The direct route: the shaded triangle has base 6 + 10 = 16 cm and height 10 cm. That drags 6 into the answer. There is a better way to look at it.
  2. The base AC and the top edge of the big square are parallel — both are horizontal. That is the way in.
  3. Parallel lines allow a shear: sliding the apex A along the parallel line does not change the area. So move the apex from A across to B.
  4. Look at the triangle now: it is exactly half of the big square, cut by a diagonal. Base and height are both 10 cm.
  5. So 10 × 10 ÷ 2 = 50 cm². The small square's size never mattered. Change 6 cm to anything and the answer stays the same.

Answer 50cm²

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