A triangle has one leg that measures 12 cm and a hypotenuse 24 cm. Find the length of the other leg to the nearest tenth of cent

Question

ElenaW [278]

2 years ago

6

A triangle has one leg that measures 12 cm and a hypotenuse 24 cm. Find the length of the other leg to the nearest tenth of cent

imeter

Mathematics

1 answer:

Minchanka [31] · Answer 1 · 2023-01-26T00:10:28+03:00

9514 1404 393

Answer:

20.8 cm

Step-by-step explanation:

The term "hypotenuse" suggests this triangle is a right triangle. Then the other leg can be found using the Pythagorean theorem:

x^2 +12^2 = 24^2

x^2 = 576 -144 = 432

x = √432 ≈ 20.8 . . . cm

The other leg is about 20.8 cm.

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<em>Additional comment</em>

A right triangle with a short leg that is 1/2 the length of the hypotenuse is the "special" 30°-60°-90° right triangle. The longer leg is √3 times the length of the short leg: 12√3 ≈ 20.8 cm.