Question

What is the length of leg s of the triangle below?

Answer 1

Hey there!

There are a few ways to do this, but I'll give you the one I can explain best.

This is a right triangle. We know this because one of the angles is 90º.

The lengths of the sides of the right triangle can be represented by the following equation:

a² + b² = c²

We already have the values for a and c, c being the hypotenuse.

3² + b² = (√18)²

Let's square a and c.

9 + b² = 18

Subtract 9 from each side of the equation.

b² = 9

To find the final value for b, find the square root of each side of the equation.

b = 3

Your answer is 3, or option D.

Hope this helps!