Question

What is the length of the unknown leg in the right triangle 3 ft

9 ft

Answer 1

it's a right triangle so you use Pythagoras' theorem.

√(√73)²- 8² =

√73 - 64 =

√9 =

3 ft

Answer 2

a = 3 ft

Step-by-step explanation:

The relation between the legs and the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle can be expressed using the Pythagorean theorem as follows:

`(hypotenuse)^2 = (leg1)^2 + (leg2)^2`

In the given triangle, we have:

leg1 = 8 ft and hypotenuse =
`√(73)` ft

Substitute with the givens in the above equation to get the length of the second leg as follows:

(
`√(73)`)² = (8)² + (second leg)²

73 = 64 + (second leg)²

(second leg)² = 9

either second leg =
`+√(9) = 3 ft ............> accepted`

or second leg =
`-√(9) = -3 ft ................> rejected` as length cannot be negative

Hope this helps :)