47.8k views
5 votes
A right triangle's hypotenuse is 1 cm longer than twice the length of the shortest side.

The third side is 1 cm less than twice the shortest side.
Find the length (in cm) of the hypotenuse.

User Ilj
by
5.4k points

1 Answer

0 votes

Answer:

17 cm

Explanation:

You want the hypotenuse (c) in a right triangle that has c=2a+1, b=2a-1.

Pythagorean theorem

The relation between the side lengths in the right triangle is ...

a² +b² = c²

Application

Substituting the given relations, we have ...

a² +(2a-1)² = (2a+1)²

a² +4a² -4a +1 = 4a² +4a +1

a² -8a = 0 . . . . . . write in standard form

a(a -8) = 0 . . . . . . factor

a = 0 or a = 8

We are almost never concerned with triangles that have 0 area, so the solution of interest is a=8. Then the hypotenuse is ...

c = 2(8) +1 = 17

The hypotenuse is 17 cm.

__

Additional comment

You may recognize these side lengths as the (8, 15, 17) Pythagorean triple.

User Tkokasih
by
5.0k points