Question

The hypotenuse of right angle triangle is 13cm. If one of the other side of the triangle is 1cm shorter than the hypotenuse, calculate the third side of the triangle

Answer 1

5 cm

Explanation:

Pythagoras theorem gives us:

`hypotenuse^(2) = side^(2) + side^(2)`

We know the hypotenuse is 13 cm.

We know one side is 12 cm.

`13^(2) = 12^(2) + side^(2)`

`169= 144 + side^(2)`

Subtracting 144 from both sides:

`25 = side^(2)`

Reversing the sides:

`side^(2)=25`

`\sqrt{side^(2)}= \±√(25)`

`side = \±√(25)`

`side = \±5`

Since a distance can't be negative:

`side=5`

The third side is 5 cm.

Answer 2

Greetings from Brasil....

From Pythagoras we have

AB² = AC² + BC²

13² = 12² + X²

X = 5