Use the image to answer the question.
An illustration shows a trapezoid with parallel sides on the top and bottom. The top side is 24 centimeters and bottom side is 20 centimeters. Two perpendicular dotted lines of 10 centimeters are drawn from the bottom vertices to the top side. The two perpendicular lines are denoted by 4 right angle symbols.
What is the area of the quadrilateral?
(1 point)
Responses
480 cm2
480 cm squared
220 cm2
220 cm squared
460 cm2
460 cm squared
240 cm2
The area of the quadrilateral can be calculated by dividing it into a rectangle and a triangle.
The rectangle has a base of 20 cm (the bottom side of the trapezoid) and a height of 10 cm (the distance between the two perpendicular lines), so its area is 20 cm * 10 cm = 200 cm^2.
The triangle has a base of 20 cm, a height of 10 cm, and an additional 4 cm from the right-angle triangle at the top, making the total height 14 cm. The area of the triangle is 0.5 * base * height = 0.5 * 20 cm * 14 cm = 140 cm^2.
Therefore, the total area of the quadrilateral is 200 cm^2 (rectangle) + 140 cm^2 (triangle) = 340 cm^2.
None of the provided options include this correct answer, so the closest option is 240 cm^2.