Answer:
12 cm
Explanation:
the triangle is right
given base and hypotenuse , to find the third side, perpendicular height
use Pythagoras' identity in the right triangle.
the square on the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares on the other 2 sides.
let perpendicular leg be x , then
x² + 5² = 13²
x² + 25 = 169 ( subtract 25 from both sides )
x² = 144 ( take square root of both sides )
x =
= 12
perpendicular height = 12 cm