SOLUTION: a square has a diagonal length of 10 meters. how long is the side of the square?

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Question 262368: a square has a diagonal length of 10 meters. how long is the side of the square?
Answer by EMStelley(208) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Remember that the diagonal of a square splits the square into 2 right triangles. So we can use Pythagorean's theorem. Remember that
a%5E2+%2B+b%5E2+=+c%5E2
where c is the hypotenuse. So the diagonal is the hypotenuse here, and thus c = 10. Now, since we are dealing with a square, all the sides are the same length, so a = b. So we have:
a%5E2+%2B+a%5E2+=+10%5E2
2a%5E2+=+100
a%5E2+=+50
a+=+sqrt%2850%29
a+=+5sqrt%282%29