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A right triangle has an area of 50 square inches. Part 1 out of 2 If the triangle is an isosceles triangle, what are the lengths of the legs of the triangle? The length of each leg is____ inches.

User Jordanm
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Answer: The length of each leg is 10 inches.

Step-by-step explanation: The triangle in question has been described as a right angled triangle, which implies that one side measures 90 degrees. It ia also described as an isosceles triangle. An isosceles triangle has two sides being equal, and also the two angles facing the two equal sides also measure the same.

If a right angled triangle is given as isosceles, then it means the hypotenuse (which is the side facing the right angle) is not one of the equal sides. The other two sides apart from the hypotenuse are the sides with equal measurement.

The area of a triangle is given as

Area of triangle = 1/2 (b*h)

Where b (the base) is one of the equal legs, and h (the vertical height) is the other leg equal to b.

Hence, the area can be re-written as follows;

Area of a triangle = 1/2 (b*h)

50 = 1/2 (b*h)

By cross multiplication, you now have

50 *2 = b*h

100 = b*h

Having already determined that b equals h,

100 = h²

Alternatively

100 = b²

Therefore, adding the square root sign to both sides of the equation, you now have

√100 = √h²

10 = h

Therefore, the length of each leg, both base and height is 10 inches

User Jjst
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