Question

If you are solving to find a missing hypotenuse should you add or subtract

Answer 1

It depends on what's given in the problem.

Explanation:

There's a few ways to find the hypotenuse of a triangle, but we must have something given to us.

A Few Methods (Most Common to Least Common):

The Pythagorean Theorem. 2 legs of a right triangle are given. You should add the 2 legs together to find the hypotenuse.

`a^2 + b^2 = c^2`

Sine, or Cosine. This is only used when there's a given angle, and/or at least one given side.

`Sin \ (\theta) = (opposite)/(hypotenuse)`

`Cosin \ (\theta)=(adjacent)/(hypotenuse)`

Rare, but possibly we need to find the area of the triangle. There needs to be at least 1 angle given.

This is the formula we need to find the Hypotenuse:

`Area = (1)/(2) * h^2 (hyp.) * sin (angle) * cos(angle)`

This is a lot to learn. Let me know if you have any questions.