Question

the hypotenuse of a right triangle is 3 cm and one of the legs is 1 cm what is the length of the other leg ?

Answer 1

2
`√(2)`

Explanation:

let the other leg be x

Using Pythagoras' identity

The square on the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares on the other 2 sides, that is

x² + 1² = 3²

x² + 1 = 9 ( subtract 1 from both sides )

x² = 8 ( take the square root of both sides )

x =
`√(8)`

=
`√(4(2))`

=
`√(4)` ×
`√(2)` = 2
`√(2)` ← exact value