85.3k views
5 votes
A right triangle has sides of length 3, 4, and x. Find x, if x were one of the legs. (Round your answer to the nearest hundredth)

User Revent
by
4.9k points

1 Answer

3 votes

Answer:

x ≈ 2.65(nearest hundredth)

Explanation:

Base on your question the triangle is a right angle triangle. This means the triangle should obey the Pythagoras theorem.

Pythagoras theorem says

c² = a² + b²

where

c = hypotenuse of the triangle

a and b are called the legs of the triangle.

The hypotenuse is the longest side of the triangle.

Recall your question says the unknown side x is one of the legs of the triangle. That means the other legs will definitely be 3 since the hypotenuse should be the longest side of the triangle which is 4.

Using Pythagoras theorem

4² = 3² + x²

16 - 9 = x²

7 = x²

square root both sides

x = √7

x = 2.64575131106

x ≈ 2.65(nearest hundredth)

User Eugene Sukh
by
4.8k points