Question

Gary used landscape timbers to create a border around a garden shaped like a right triangle. The longest two timbers he used are 12 feet and 15 feet long. Which is closest to the length, in feet, of the shortest timber?

Answer 1

Answer:

9 feet

Step-by-step explanation:

Given:

The border of the garden is a right angled triangle.

Two lengths are given as 12 ft and 15 ft.

Let the length of the shortest timber be 'x' feet.

Now, in a right angled triangle, the longest length is called the hypotenuse.

As 15 feet is the largest length, it is the hypotenuse of the triangle. Now, applying Pythagoras theorem, we get:

$(Leg1)^2+(Leg2)^2=(Hypotenuse)^2\\x^2+12^2=15^2\\x^2+144=225\\x^2=225-144\\x^2=81\\x=\pm \sqrt{81}=\pm 9$

The negative value is neglected as length can never be negative.

Therefore, the length of the shortest timber is 9 feet.