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45 votes
What’s the length of line segment DF?

What’s the length of line segment DF?-example-1
User Juraj Martinka
by
2.9k points

1 Answer

22 votes
22 votes

Answer:

DF = 5 units

Explanation:

Given a figure showing right triangle DGF with sides DG = 3 and FG = 4, you want the length of hypotenuse DF.

Pythagorean theorem

The Pythagorean theorem can be used to find the distance between two points that are the ends of the hypotenuse of a right triangle. Where 'a' and 'b' are the side lengths of the triangle, the hypotenuse 'c' satisfies ...

c² = a² +b²

DF² = DG² +FG²

DF² = 3² +4² = 9 +16 = 25

DF = √25 = 5

The length of line segment DF is 5 units.

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Additional comment

The sides of this right triangle DGF are of lengths 3, 4, and 5. This set of numbers often shows up in algebra and geometry problems, so is worth remembering. Any triangle with sides in the ratio 3:4:5 will be a right triangle.

User Cclerv
by
3.2k points