168,546 views
24 votes
24 votes
Help me finish this pythagorean theorem model problem I can't understand it

Help me finish this pythagorean theorem model problem I can't understand it-example-1
User Ron Savage
by
3.4k points

1 Answer

20 votes
20 votes

Let's rotate and redraw the figure to make it easier to understand:

The figure appears to be a right triangle with its hypotenuse and opposite side given.

Since this is a right triangle, to be able to get the measurement of the adjacent side, we will be using the Pythagorean Theorem:


a^2+b^2=c^2

The formula for the adjacent side or c is:


a^2+b^2=c^2
b^2=c^2-a^2

Let's now plug in the given values to get b.


b^2=c^2-a^2

Given: c² = 225 and a² = 145


b^2=225\text{ - 145}
b^2=80
b\text{ = }\sqrt[]{80}\text{ = }\sqrt[]{16\text{ x 5}}\text{ = 4}\sqrt[]{5}

Help me finish this pythagorean theorem model problem I can't understand it-example-1
User Asselin
by
2.3k points