In the diagram, PQRS is a quadrilateral, < PQR = < PRS = 90\(^o\), |PQ| =3cm, |QR| = 4cm and |PS| = 13 cm. Find the area of the quadrilateral.

In the diagram, PQRS is a quadrilateral, < PQR = < PRS = 90\(^o\), |PQ| =3cm, |QR| = 4cm and |PS| = 13 cm. Find the area of the quadrilateral. 

Answer Details

We can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the length of the diagonal PR and then use the formula for the area of a parallelogram to find the area of the quadrilateral.

The Pythagorean theorem states that in a right triangle, the sum of the squares of the lengths of the two smaller sides is equal to the square of the length of the longest side, which is the hypotenuse. In this case, the right triangle is PQR, so we have:

PQ² + QR² = PR²

Substituting the given values, we get:

3² + 4² = PR²

9 + 16 = PR²

25 = PR²

PR = sqrt(25) = 5

Now that we have the length of the diagonal PR, we can find the area of the parallelogram using the formula:

Area = base * height

Since PR is the height of the parallelogram, we can use any of the sides of the quadrilateral as the base. Let's use PQ as the base:

Area = PQ * PR

Area = 3 * 5

Area = 15 square cm

So the area of the quadrilateral is 15 square cm.