Question

One of the legs of a right triangle measures 13 cm and its hypotenuse measures 17 cm. Find the measure of the other leg. If necessary, round to the nearest tenth.

Answer 1

To find the lengths of a right triangle, we can use what is called Pythagorean Theorem: a^2 + b^2 = c^2, where a and b are the legs of the triangle and c is the hypotenuse.

13^2 + b^2 = 17^2

169 + b^2 = 289

b^2 = 120

b = 11.0 cm

The length of the other leg of the triangle is 11.0 cm (rounded).

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Formula : $a^{2} + b^{2} = c^{2}$, where a;b are the 2 legs, c is the hypotenuse

Replace 13 and 17 in : $13^{2} +b^{2} = 17^{2}$

$b^{2} = 289 - 169 = 120$

$b = \sqrt{120} = 11.0$ (already rounded to nearest tenth)