document.write( "Question 1060594: Write and solve a quadratic equation. A right triangle has a hypotenuse of 105 inches. One leg is forty-two inches less than double the other leg. What is the length of the shorter leg? (Hint: a^2+b^2=c^2) \r
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Algebra.Com's Answer #675513 by MathTherapy(10552) $\"\"$ $\"About$

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Write and solve a quadratic equation. A right triangle has a hypotenuse of 105 inches. One leg is forty-two inches less than double the other leg. What is the length of the shorter leg? (Hint: a^2+b^2=c^2) \r
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The \"other\" leg is the shorter leg, which we'll call, S
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document.write( "Then the longer leg = 2S - 42
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document.write( "Using pythag theorem, , we get: 
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document.write( " ------ FOILing 
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document.write( " ------ Replacing - 168S with  - 315S + 147S
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document.write( "5S(S - 63) + 147(S - 63) = 0
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document.write( "(S - 63)(5S + 147) = 0
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document.write( "S - 63 = 0                   OR                5S + 147 = 0
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document.write( "S, or length of the shorter leg =             OR               (ignore)\r
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document.write( "** You could also solve this quadratic equation by: using the quadratic equation formula, COMPLETING THE SQUARE, or GRAPHING. However, graphing is most-often not used. \n" );
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