Question

juans pencil box measures 6 cm long. if the length of the diagonal is 10 cm what is the width of the pencil box

Answer 1

8 cm

Explanation:

Use the Pythagorean theorem-
`a^(2) +b^(2) =c^(2)`

leg a: 6cm

leg b: unknown

hypotenuse: 10cm

Therefore
`6^(2) +x^(2) =10^(2) = 36+x^(2) =100`

Subtract 36 to 100 to isolate the
`x^(2)`.
`x^(2) =64`

Square root both sides and get your answer of 8cm

Answer 2

8 cm

Explanation:

We can use the Pythagorean theorem to solve since we have a right triangle

a^2 +b^2 = c^2 where a and b are the legs and c is the hypotenuse

a^2 +6^2 = 10^2

a^2 +36 = 100

a^2 = 100-36

a^2 = 64

Taking the square root of each side

sqrt(a^2) = sqrt(64)

a =8