Question

Given a triangle with sides of 2 cm and 6 cm, what is the length of the hypotenuse?

A. √8
B. √40
C. 40
D. 8

Answer 1

`√(40)`

Explanation:

it's important to mention this only works for right triangles. Or in other words a triangle that has a 90 degree angle. the two sides connected to that right angle are called legs, while the one side not touching it is the hypotenuse, which is what we're looking for.

we are going to use the Pythagorean theorem. if we label one leg a and the other as b, it doesn't matter which one is which, and the hypotenuse as c we have the relation

`{a}^(2) + {b}^(2) = {c}^(2)`

so let's plug in.

`{6}^(2) + {2}^(2) = {c}^(2)`

`36 + 4 = {c}^(2)`

`40 = {c}^(2)`

`√(40) = c`

let me know if you need any more help.