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In a right triangle the length of a hypotenuse is c and the length of one leg is a, and the length of the other leg is b, what is the value of b, if c=13, a=5

User Suzzette
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1 Answer

7 votes

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Answer:

b = 12

Explanation:

A commonly seen "Pythagorean triple" is (a, b, c) = (5, 12, 13).

The value of b is 12.

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You may be expected to find this using the Pythagorean theorem.

a² +b² = c²

b² = c² - a²

b = √(c² -a²) = √(13² -5²) = √(169 -25) = √144

b = 12

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Additional comment

Pythagorean triples you will run across are ...

(3, 4, 5), (5, 12, 13), (7, 24, 25), (8, 15, 17), (9, 40, 41)

and their multiples, such as 2×(3, 4, 5) = (6, 8, 10). Of course, there are an infinite number of integer Pythagorean triples, but these are ones commonly seen in algebra, trig, and geometry problems.

User Aaviya
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