Question

The length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is 13 cm. The length of one leg is 5 cm. Find the length of the other leg. i think its 12

Answer 1

Answer: Correct! The answer is 12.

Explanation:

1) Draw the triangle.

Drawing a triangle usually helps you see the problem better!
| \

| \ 13 cm

| \

|______\

5 cm

2) Solve the other leg

To find the other leg, we need to use the Pythagorean theorem. Which goes like this

`a^2+b^2=c^2`

We will then substitute the numbers into the equation

`5^2+b^2=13^2`

Simplify

`25+b^2=169`

Set the variable on one side

`b^2=144`

Get rid of the squared in the b by square rooting both sides.

`b=12`

The answer is 12.