Question

The hypotenuse of an isosceles triangles measures 10 inches long. What is the length of one leg of the triangle?

Answer 1

The leg sides are or at least one is (10 in.)/√(2) = 10√(2)/2 in. = 5√(2) long.

Answer 2

Let one leg be x.    Hypotenuse = 10

x² + x² = 10²

2x² = 10²

2x² = 100

x² = 100/2

x² = 50

x = √50

x = √(25 *2)

x = √25 * √2 = 5√2

x = 5√2 ≈ 5*1.414 = 7.07

Length of each leg ≈ 7.07