Question

A right triangle has a leg that measures 15 ft and the hypotenuse measures 24 ft. What would the

length of the missing leg be to the nearest whole number?

Answer 1

x=19

Explanation:

First, you place the numbers in place of the variables in their relative positions using the pythagorean theorem:

`15^(2) +x^(2)=24^(2)`

Then you square the numbers that you currently have:

`225+x^(2)=576`

Then subtract 225 from both sides to isolate the x:

`x^(2) =576-225`

This gives you the equation:

`x^(2) =351`

Then take the square root of both sides which gives you:

`x=18.7349939952`

Then round to the nearest whole number which gives you x=19