SOLUTION: A right triangle has legs of 12 ft and 16 ft. Find the longest side of the triangle. I don't get this at all :( help please

Question 294600: A right triangle has legs of 12 ft and 16 ft.
Find the longest side of the triangle. I don't get this at all :( help please
Answer by Earlsdon(6294) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
A right triangle is composed of two sides called legs and a third side called the hypotenuse. The hypotenuse is always the longest side in a right triangle.
Using the Pythagorean theorem for right triangles: where c = the length of the hypoenuse, and a & b are the lenghts of the two legs, you can find the length of the hypotenuse if you are given the lengths of the two legs.
Substitute a = 12 and b = 16.

Take the square root of both sides.
ft.
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