SOLUTION: One leg of a right triangle is once inch shorter than the other leg.If the hypotenuse is 5 inches , find the length of the shorter leg.

Question 1125269: One leg of a right triangle is once inch shorter than the other leg.If the hypotenuse is 5 inches , find the length of the shorter leg.
Found 2 solutions by MathLover1, MathTherapy:
Answer by MathLover1(20849) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!

let legs be and , and hypotenuse

One leg of a right triangle is one inch shorter than the other leg, we have
....eq.1

if the hypotenuse is inches , find the length of the shorter leg using Pythagorean theorem
...eq.2
plug in from eq.1 in eq.2 and

...solve for

.............simplify

use quadratic formula:

solution: we need only positive solution

inches
go to ....eq.1, substitute

inches ->the length of the shorter leg

Answer by MathTherapy(10552) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!

One leg of a right triangle is once inch shorter than the other leg.If the hypotenuse is 5 inches , find the length of the shorter leg.

SIMPLE 3-4-5 Pythagorean TRIPLE.
3 (shorter leg); 4 (longer leg) ; 5 (Hypotenuse)
RELATED QUESTIONS
The hypotenuse of a right triangle is 5 inches long. The shorter leg is 1 inch shorter... (answered by rfer)
One leg of a right triangle is 44 inches more than twicetwice the length of the... (answered by MathLover1,Alan3354,josgarithmetic)
The length of one leg of a right triangle is 8 inches. The length of the other leg is 6... (answered by swincher4391)
The length of one leg of a right triangle is 8 inches. The length of the other leg is 6... (answered by swincher4391)
one leg of a right triangle is 6cm shorter than the other leg. the length of the... (answered by stanbon)
The hypotenuse of a right triangle is 5 inches long. The longer leg is 1 inch longer... (answered by ikleyn)
the hypotenuse of a right triangle is 1 inch longer than the longer leg. the shorter leg... (answered by Cromlix)
if one leg of a right triangle is 14 meters shorter than the other leg, and the... (answered by stanbon)
The longer leg of a right triangle is 1 inch longer than the shorter leg. The hypotenuse... (answered by jorel555)