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What relationship does the hypotenuse have with the circle when constructing a right triangle and circumscribing a circle about it?

A) The hypotenuse is the radius of the circle.
B) The hypotenuse is tangent to the circle.
C) The hypotenuse is the diameter of the circle.
D) The hypotenuse is unrelated to the circle.

User Euphe
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Final answer:

The hypotenuse of a right triangle circumscribing a circle is the diameter of that circle. This follows from the Thales' theorem and the properties of a circumcircle around a right triangle.

Step-by-step explanation:

When constructing a right triangle and circumscribing a circle about it, the relationship that the hypotenuse has with the circle is that the hypotenuse is the diameter of the circle. This is because according to the properties of a circumscribed circle (or circumcircle) around a right triangle, the right angle is subtended by a semicircle or half circle. Therefore, the side opposite the right angle, which is the hypotenuse, spans the diameter of the circumcircle. This relationship is a consequence of the Thales' theorem, which states that any triangle inscribed in a circle such that one of the triangle's sides is a diameter of the circle will be a right triangle.

To clarify this with examples of the Pythagorean theorem, the side lengths a and b would be considered legs, and the side c which is the hypotenuse, is equal to the square root of the sum of the squares of the other two sides, or c = √(a² + b²). If you consider a triangle with these side lengths inscribed in a circle, the hypotenuse c would span from one end of the circle to the other, making it the diameter.

User Bhagwat K
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