Question

The shortest leg of a right triangle is 1 inches shorter than the other leg. The hypotenuse of this triangle is 5 inches. What are the lengths of the two legs of this triangle?

The shortest leg is __ inches long.
The other leg is ___inches long.
Please Show your work

Answer 1

The shortest leg is _3_ inches long.

The other leg is __4_inches long.

Explanation:

The legs of the right angle triangle are x inches, x-1 iinches, 5inchrs

From Pythagoras rule,

x^2+(x-1)^2=25

2x^2-2x-24=0

x^2-x-12=0

x=4 or -3

The shorter leg =4-1=3