Question 481953: I need help with this question i know the pythagorean theorem but i get a little confused with it my problem is a^2+b^2=c^2 i got the square root of leg a and leg b but i dont know if i have to add them or subtract them to get my answer.What do I do?
Answer by nerdybill(7384)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! Perhaps it would be better if you provide us with the specific problem you're looking at. This way, it'll be a little easier to explain.
Basically, if you have a "right-triangle" (one of the three interior angles measures 90 degrees), then you can apply the formula:
a^2 + b^2 = c^2
where
c is the hypotenuse (longest side)
a and b are the other two sides
.
for example, say you have a=3 and b=5 and you're looking for the hypotenuse then
3^2 + 4^2 = c^2
9 + 16 = c^2
25 = c^2
now, you would take the square root of both sides:
5 = c
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