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A garden has the shape of a right triangle with one leg 7 meters longer than the other. The hypotenuse is 7 meters less than twice the length of the shorter leg. What is the length of the shorter leg?
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So, the legs are x and x+7, while the hypotenuse is 2x-7.
The Pythagorean equation is
= , or
= , or
=
with the only appropriate solution x = 21.
Check: 21^2 + (21+7)^2 = 21^2 + 28^2 = 1225;
(2*21 - 7)^2 = 35^2 = 1225.
Answer. The shorter leg is 21 meter.