Question

Find the length of the third side. 20 28 A) 19.6 B) 384 C) 8 D) 48

Answer 1

A) 19.6

Step-by-step explanation

This is a right triangle, so we have to use the Pythagorean theorem to find the third side's length.

First we have to identify the hypotenuse of the triangle. The hypotenuse is always the opposite side to the right angle. In this case, the hypotenuse is 28 units long. Therefore, what we want to find is the length of one of the legs.

Let 'x' be the missing length:

`28^2=x^2+20^2`

This is the pythagorean formula for this triangle. Solving for x:

`\begin{gathered} x=\sqrt[]{28^2-20^2} \\ x=\sqrt[]{784-400} \\ x=\sqrt[]{384} \\ x=8\sqrt[]{6} \\ x\approx19.6 \end{gathered}`

The third side's length is 19.6 units (rounded to the nearest tenth).