Need help in this geometry problem
1 answer:
You might be interested in
Answer:
Step-by-step explanation:
We are asked to find the length of the third side in a triangle, given the other 2 sides.
Since this is a right triangle (note the small square in the corner of the triangle representing a 90 degree /right angle), we can use the Pythagorean Theorem.
In this theorem, <em>a</em> and <em>b</em> are the legs of the triangle and <em>c</em> is the hypotenuse.
We know that the unknown side (we can say it is a) and the side measuring 5 are the legs because they form the right angle. The side measuring 10 is the hypotenuse because it is opposite the right angle.
- b= 5
- c= 10
Substitute the values into the formula.
Solve the exponents.
- (5)²= 5*5 = 25
- (10)²= 10*10= 100
We are solving for a, so we must isolate the variable. 25 is being added to a. The inverse operation of addition is subtraction, so we subtract 25 from both sides.
a is being squared. The inverse of a square is the square root, so we take the square root of both sides.
Round to the nearest tenth. The 6 in the hundredth place tells us to round the 6 up to a 7 in the tenth place.
The length of the third side is approximately <u>8.7</u>