Question

The hypotenuse of a right triangle measures 20 one of its legs measures 4 cm. Find the measure of other leg. If necessary, round to the nearest tenth.

Answer 1

The other leg is 19.6cm

Explanation:

Use Pythagorean Theorem to set up an equation and solve.

The Pythagorean Thm is:

leg^2 + leg^2= hypotenuse^2

Let's fill in what we know:

4^2 + leg^2 = 20^2

(let's use a variable)

4^2 + b^2 = 20^2

simplify

16 + b^2 = 400

subtract 16

b^2 = 384

squareroot both sides.

b = sqrt384

use a calculator to find the squareroot.

b = 19.5959179

round to the nearest tenth.

b = 19.6

don't forget units!

The other leg is 19.6cm