SOLUTION: Can someone help me with this question?
The length of one leg of a right triangle is 3 in. more than the other.
If the length of the hypotenuse is 15 in., what are the lengths
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The length of one leg of a right triangle is 3 in. more than the other.
If the length of the hypotenuse is 15 in., what are the lengths
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Question 118901: Can someone help me with this question?
The length of one leg of a right triangle is 3 in. more than the other.
If the length of the hypotenuse is 15 in., what are the lengths of the two legs? Answer by stanbon(75887) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! The length of one leg of a right triangle is 3 in. more than the other.
If the length of the hypotenuse is 15 in., what are the lengths of the two legs?
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Let one of the legs be "x"
Then the other is "x+3"
EQUATION:
Using Pythagoras you get:
x^2 + (x+3)^2 = 15^2
2x^2+6x +9 = 225
2x^2+6x-216= 0
x^2+3x-108 = 0
x = [-3 +- sqrt(9-4*-108)]/2
x = [-3 +- sqrt(441)]/2
x = [-3 +- 21]/2
Positive answer:
x = 18/2 = 9 (One of the legs)
x+3 = 12 (The other leg)
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Cheers,
Stan H.
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