Final answer:
The length of the longest side of a right triangle (Gisin) can be found using the Pythagorean theorem, by adding the squares of the other two sides (5 and 12 inches) and taking the square root of the sum.
Step-by-step explanation:
The length of the longest side of a right triangle can be found using the Pythagorean theorem, which states that the square of the longest side (hypotenuse) is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. In this case, the squares of the shortest sides are 5^2 and 12^2. So, the square of the longest side (Gisin) can be found by adding 5^2 and 12^2. Finally, taking the square root of the sum will give us the length of the longest side.
Plugging in the values, we have: Gisin = sqrt(5^2 + 12^2) = sqrt(25 + 144) = sqrt(169) = 13 inches.
Therefore, the length of the longest side (Gisin) is 13 inches.