Question

If the hypotenuse of a right triangle is 6 m and the one side is 4 m, what's the length of the other side?

Answer 1

Answer: 2√5 or 4.47213595

Explanation:

Use the Pythagorean Theorem: a^2 + b^2 = c^2

(a and b are the measures of the legs and c is the measure of the hypotenuse.)

Let's solve for a (the length of the other leg)

*I hope that m is not a variable and just an abbreviation for meters.

b = 4 m

c = 6 m

a^2 + 4^2 = 6^2

a^2 + 16 = 36

a^2 = √20

a = 2√5 = 4.47213595

Answer 2

Explanation:

We can use the Pythagorean theorem to solve for side b:

`c^2 = a^2 + b^2 \Rightarrow b^2 = c^2 - a^2`

or

`b = √(c^2 - a^2) = \sqrt{(6\:\text{m})^2 - (4\:\text{m})^2}`

`\:\:\:\:= 4.47\:\text{m}`