Question

Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the leg in the triangle shown below.135P

Answer 1

Let's recall the Pythagorean Theorem:

`a^2+b^2=c^2\text{ }\Rightarrow\text{ c = }√(a^2+b^2)`

Where, a and b are the legs and c is the hypotenuse.

In our exercise, we know the value of the hypotenuse and one of the legs, then we calculate the length of the second leg, this way:

`b\text{ = }\sqrt{13^2\text{ - }5^2\text{ }}\text{ }\Rightarrow\text{ b = }√(144)`

b = 12 units