SOLUTION: In a right triangle, hypothenuse is 17 cm. The measure of one leg is one less than twice the measure of the other. Determine the measure of both legs.

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Question 1006221: In a right triangle, hypothenuse is 17 cm. The measure of one leg is one less than twice the measure of the other. Determine the measure of both legs.
Found 2 solutions by josgarithmetic, MathTherapy:
Answer by josgarithmetic(39629) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
x, a leg's length;
-1+2x, the other leg's length;
%282x-1%29%5E2%2Bx%5E2=17%5E2

4x%5E2-4x%2B1%2Bx%5E2-17%5E2=0
5x%5E2-4x-289=0

D for DISCRIMINANT;
D=16%2B4%2A5%2A289=16%2B20%2A289=5796=9%2A644=9%2A4%2A161=6%5E2%2A161

x=%28-4%2B-+6%2Asqrt%28161%29%29%2F10
highlight%28x=%28-2%2B3%2Asqrt%28161%29%29%2F5%29, and you can finish finding the other leg.

Answer by MathTherapy(10556) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!

In a right triangle, hypothenuse is 17 cm. The measure of one leg is one less than twice the measure of the other. Determine the measure of both legs.
Measure of shorter leg: highlight_green%288%29 cm

Measure of longer leg: +highlight_green%2815%29 cm