Question

40 yd 9 yd What is the length of the hypotenuse? yards

Answer 1

If A and B are the lengths of the legs of a righ triangle and C is the length of the hypotenuse, we know by the Pythagorean Theorem that:

`C^2=A^2+B^2`

In this case, the lengths of the legs are 9yd and 40yd. Then:

`\begin{gathered} c^2=9^2+40^2 \\ =81+1600 \\ =1681 \\ \Rightarrow c=\sqrt[]{1681} \\ \therefore c=41 \end{gathered}`

Therefore, the length of the hypotenuse is:

`41\text{ yards}`