Question

If the hypotenuse of a right triangle is 6 and one leg is 5 what is the other leg?

Answer 1

Recall the Pythagorean Theorem which says:

a^2 + b^2 = c^2

where c is the hypotenuse and a and b are the other 2 legs. Now we just plug in numbers we already know (the hypotenuse and one leg) and solve for the unknown side:

5^2 + b^2 = 6^2

25 + b^2 = 36

b^2 = 11

b = √11

Thus the answer is C.