Answer:
The shorter wall is 5 feet long.
Explanation:
This problem can be solved by visualizing the the long wall, short wall, and diagonal wall as a right triangle.
After doing so, the problem can be solved by utilizing the Pythagorean Theorem, which states that in a right triangle, the sides must be equivalent to a^2 + b^2 = c^2, with a b and c being the actual lengths of the sides of the triangle.
To begin, you would create the equation a^2 + 12^2 = 13^2 (c always indicates the hypotenuse, but a and b are interchangeable for the remaining sides).
Then, you would find the square of 12 and 13, which would be 144 and 169, respectively. Thus, a^2 + 144 = 169.
Next, you would get a^2 by itself on the left side in order to solve for it by subtracting 144 from both sides, which grants the equation a^2 = 25.
Finally, after finding the square root of both sides, you get the final answer of a = 5. Thus, the shorter wall is 5 feet long.