Question

Two sides of a right triangle have lengths of 4 centimeters and 7 centimeters. The third side is NOT the hypotenuse. How long is the third side? (Round your answer to the nearest tenth.)

Answer 1

The third side is 5.7 centimeters.

Explanation:

The hypothenuse is the largest side of a right triangle. So in this question, we know that the hypothenuse is 7.

One of the sides is 4, and the other is x.

Applying Pythagoras' Theorem:

`x^(2) + 4^(2) = 7^(2)`

`x^(2) = 49 - 16`

`x^(2) = 33`

`x = \pm √(33)`

Since it is a length measure, we only take the positive value

`x = 5.7`

The third side is 5.7 centimeters.