SOLUTION: 2. The length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is 13 cm. The length of one leg is 5 cm. Find the length of the other leg. (1 point) 14 cm 144 cm 8 cm 12 cm

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Question 669007: 2. The length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is 13 cm. The length of one leg is 5 cm. Find the length of the other leg. (1 point)
14 cm
144 cm
8 cm
12 cm
Answer by jim_thompson5910(35256)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!

We basically have this triangle set up:





To find the unknown length, we need to use the Pythagorean Theorem.


Remember, the Pythagorean Theorem is where "a" and "b" are the legs of a triangle and "c" is the hypotenuse.


Since the legs are and this means that and


Also, since the hypotenuse is , this means that .


Start with the Pythagorean theorem.


Plug in , ,


Square to get .


Square to get .


Subtract from both sides.


Combine like terms.


Take the square root of both sides. Note: only the positive square root is considered (since a negative length doesn't make sense).


Simplify the square root.


================================================================


Answer:


So the solution is .
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