Question

The length of one leg of a right triangle is 24 feet and the length of the hypotenuse is 40 ft what is the length of the other leg

Answer 1

To solve for the other leg, you need to use Pythagorean theory.

The theory states that C^2 = A^2 + B^2

In your case, you have to solve for B.
C = 40 (hypotenuse) A = 24 (leg 1)

The formula rewritten for B is
`b= \sqrt{c^(2)-a^(2) }`

Now, you can solve.


`b= \sqrt{c^(2)-a^(2) } b= \sqrt{40^(2)-24^2 } b = √(1600 - 576) b = √(1024) b = 32`

Therefore, B = 32.

So the second leg is 32 feet.