SOLUTION: Find the exact length of the side oa a square whose diagonal is 3 feet

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Question 222521: Find the exact length of the side oa a square whose diagonal is 3 feet
Found 2 solutions by rfer, drj:
Answer by rfer(16322) About Me  (Show Source):
Answer by drj(1380) About Me  (Show Source):
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Find the exact length of the side of a square whose diagonal is 3 feet

Step 1. Let s be the side and note the diagonal breaks the square into two equivalent right triangels.

Step 2. Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the side where the sum of the square of the legs is equal to the square of the hypotenuse (or 3 feet in this example).

Legs are two sides each of length s so

s%5E2%2Bs%5E2=3%5E2

2s%5E2=3%5E2

Divide 2 to both sides of the equation

2s%5E2%2F2=3%5E2%2F2

s%5E2=3%5E2%2F2

Take the square root to both sides of the equation

s=3%2Fsqrt%282%29

s=3sqrt%282%29%2Fsqrt%282%29sqrt%282%29

s=3sqrt%282%29%2F2

Step 3. ANSWER: The side s=3sqrt%282%29%2F2

I hope the above steps were helpful.

For FREE Step-By-Step videos in Introduction to Algebra, please visit http://www.FreedomUniversity.TV/courses/IntroAlgebra and for Trigonometry visit http://www.FreedomUniversity.TV/courses/Trigonometry.

Good luck in your studies!

Respectfully,
Dr J