Question

For the values a = 3.4 and b = 2.6, which are legs of a right triangle, find c, the hypotenuse, to the nearest tenth.

a. 4.3B. 2.4C. 2.2D. 4.8

Answer 1

The hypotenuse will be bigger than either of the legs so we can rule out B and C. It will be pretty close to the diagonal of a 3×3 square so 3√2 = 3 × 1.4 = 4.2. Our preliminary guess is A.

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

`c = √(a^2 + b^2)`

`c = √(3.4^2+2.6^2) \approx 4.3`

Choice A