Question

What is the length of side a? Round to the nearest tenth of an inch.

Answer 1

14.4 in.

Explanation:

Given:

Base of a right triangle = 7 in

Height of a right triangle = a

Hypotenuse = 16 in

To find:

The length of side a.

Solution:

Using Pythagoras theorem:

In right triangle, square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.

Subtract 49 from both sides.

Taking square root on both sides, we get

a = 14.4

The length of side a is 14.4 in.

Answer 2

Use Pythagorean theorem
a^2 + b^2 = c^2
You know b = 7, c = 16
Plug in the values
a^2 + 7^2 = 16^2
a^2 + 49 = 256
a^2 = 207
a = 14.38749
Round to nearest tenth
Solution: a = 14.4 in.