Depends on what you mean by "sides" when you say "sides of length 2 and 4." Do you mean that these are the two sides that include the right angle vertex of the triangle such that you want to calculate the measure of the hypotenuse, or is 4 the measure of the hypotenuse of the triangle and you want to calculate the unknown leg? The ambiguity arises because you rather carelessly referred to all three sides of your right triangle as "sides" rather than the more traditional and much more descriptive "short leg," "long leg," and "hypotenuse."
Either:
Case 1.
Case 2.
John
My calculator said it, I believe it, that settles it
