The length of the shorter leg is 6 centimeters, and the length of the longer leg is x + 14 = 20 centimeters.
Step-by-step explanation:
Let x be the length of the shorter leg of the right triangle.
According to the problem, the longer leg is 14 centimeters longer than the shorter leg, so its length is x + 14.
We also know that the length of the hypotenuse of the right triangle is 26 centimeters.By the Pythagorean theorem, we have:
x^2 + (x + 14)^2 = 26^2
Simplifying the left side:
x^2 + x^2 + 28x + 196 = 676
Combining like terms:
2x^2 + 28x - 480 = 0
Dividing by 2:
x^2 + 14x - 240 = 0
Factoring:
(x + 20)(x - 6) = 0
Therefore, x = -20 or x = 6.
Since the length of a side cannot be negative, we reject x = -20 and conclude that x = 6.
So the length of the shorter leg is 6 centimeters, and the length of the longer leg is x + 14 = 20 centimeters.