SOLUTION: If the diagonal of a square is 18 cm. How long is a side ? Explain the answer ?

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Question 837224: If the diagonal of a square is 18 cm. How long is a side ? Explain the answer ?
Answer by LinnW(1048) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
For a right triangle a%5E2+%2B+b%5E2+=+c%5E2
For our problem, c = 18 and a and b are the same length
so we have a%5E2%2Ba%5E2=c%5E2 or
a%5E2%2Ba%5E2=%2818%29%5E2
2a%5E2=324
divide each side by 2
a%5E2=162
take square root of each side
a+=+sqrt%28162%29 which is approximately 12.2728