In this case, we'll have to carry out several steps to find the solution.
Step 01:
Data:
length of the shorter leg = ?
length of the longer leg = ?
length of the hypotenuse = ?
Step 02:
We must analyze the problem to find the solution.
x = length of the shorter leg
y = length of the longer leg
z = length of the hypotenuse
System of equations:
x = y - 7 (eq.1)
z = y + 7 (eq.2)
z² = x² + y² (eq.3)
eq.2 in eq.3
14y + 49 = x²
y - 7 = x * (-14) (eq.1)
14y + 49 = x²
-14y + 98 = -14x (eq.1)
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147 = x² - 14x
x² - 14x - 147 = 0
Step 03:
Quadratic equation:
x² - 14x - 147 = 0
x = 21 (positive solution)
x = y - 7
21 + 7 = y
28 = y
z = y + 7 = 28 + 7 = 35
The answer is:
length of the shorter leg = 21
length of the longer leg = 28
length of the hypotenuse = 35