Question

Find the length of the shorter leg of a right triangle if the longer leg is 7 feet more than the shorter leg and the hypotenuse is 7 feet less than twice the shorter leg.

Answer 1

You can use the pythagorean theorem.

`a^(2) + b^(2) = c^(2)`
Now lets write out what we know.

Shorter leg = x
Longer Leg = x + 7
Hypotenuse = x - 7


`a^(2) + b^(2) = c^(2)`
Now solve for x

`x^(2) + (x+7)^(2) = (2x-7)^(2)`
x = 28
Since you know x = 28, which is the shorter leg, you can solve for the rest by just plugging in 28 where x is located. For instance, longer let is x + 7 so
28 + 7 = 35