Answer:
Length YZ is about 16.2 cm (to the first decimal place)
Explanation:
In order to find the lenth YZ we need to know the the Pythagorean theorem which is a²+b²=c² (or leg² + leg² = hypothnose)
For this problem let a = line segment XY, let b = YZ and let your hypothnose (c) to be ZX
- Substitute your known values in the equation so we know a = 5 cm and c = 17 cm so we can apply it in our equation 5²+ b² = 17²
- Square your known values in this case 5² and 17² which is 25 and 289 respectively. The equation is now 25+b²=289
- Do the inverse operation to Isolate you unknown variable which is b. We do this by subtracting 25 on both sides after doing so the equation is now b²= 264
- Square root both sides of the equation the point is to get rid of the squared part of b². After doing so your answer is b = 16.2480768093
- Round to the first decimal place the two remains the same so the final answer is 16.2 cm