Question

Solve for y given that the height of the triangle is 4 miles and each of the legs are 7 miles.

Answer 1

Explanation:

x^2 + y^2 = z^2 is the pythagorean theorem.

If you divide the large triangle into two separate ones, with sides 7, 4 and 0.5y, you can use the pythagorean theorem to figure out 0.5y. So:

7^2 = 4^2 +(0.5y)^2

49-16 = 33

so y=2sqrt(33)