Question

Nautical flags are used to represent letters of alphabets. The flag for the letter O consists of a yellow right triangle and a red right triangle joined together along their hypotenuse to form a square. The joint hypotenuse of the two triangles is three inches longer than a side of the square. Find the length of a side of the flag. Round your answer to the nearest tenth.

Answer 1

7.2 inches

Explanation:

Answer 2

S = 7.24

Explanation:

Attached image.

We can use the pythagorean theorem to solve this. It states

`c^2 = a^2 + b^2`

Where

c is the hypotenuse (s + 3)

a and b are th two legs (s each respectively)

So we have:

`(s+3)^2=s^2 + s^2\\s^2 +6s +9=2s^2\\s^2 -6s - 9 = 0\\s=7.24,-1.24`

Since length can't be negative, we take

s = 7.24