SOLUTION: In a right triangle find the length of the side not given. b=1 and c= SQRT 5 and a= ? I am not good with these type of problems at all so have no work to show what so ever.

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Question 422365: In a right triangle find the length of the side not given.
b=1 and c= SQRT 5 and a= ?
I am not good with these type of problems at all so have no work to show what so ever.
Found 2 solutions by stanbon, algebrahouse.com:
Answer by stanbon(75887) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
In a right triangle find the length of the side not given.
b=1 and c= SQRT 5 and a= ?
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Pythagoras:
hypotenuse^2 = leg1^2 + leg2^2
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(sqrt(5))^2 = 1^2 + a^2
5 = 1 + a^2
a^2 = 4
a = 2
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Cheers,
Stan H.
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Answer by algebrahouse.com(1659) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
"In a right triangle find the length of the side not given.
b = 1 and c = √5 and a = ?
I am not good with these type of problems at all so have no work to show what so ever."

Pythagorean Theorem is a^2 + b^2 = c^2
- the sum of the squares of the legs is equal to the square of the hypotenuse

b = 1, c = √5, a = ?
a^2 + (1)^2 = (√5)^2 {substituted into the pythagorean theorem}
a^2 + 1 = 5 {squared 1 and squared √5}
a^2 = 4 {subtracted 1 from both sides}
a = 2 {took the square root of both sides, accepting only positive √4, since it is a measurement)

a = 2
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