Question

One of the legs of a right triangle measures 17 cm and the other leg measures 5 cm. Find the measure of the hypotenuse. If necessary, round to the nearest tenth.

Answer 1

17.7 cm^2

Explanation:

The formula for finding the hypotenuse using the pythagorean theorem is:

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

or, it can also be
`c=√(a^2+b^2)`. But I will be using the first formula.

We first plug in the "legs" to the equation:

`a^(2) =17^(2) \\b^(2)=5^2`

`17^2+5^2=c^2\\17^2+5^2=314`

Now, you find the square root of 314.

`√(314)=17.72^2`

And finally, just round to the nearest tenths place!

`17.7^2`