SOLUTION: One leg of triangle is 7 cm less than the length of other leg. The length of hypotenuse is 13 cm. Find the length of the legs

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Question 347784: One leg of triangle is 7 cm less than the length of other leg. The length of hypotenuse is 13 cm. Find the length of the legs
Answer by Fombitz(32388) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Use the Pythagorean theorem,
x%5E2%2B%28x-7%29%5E2=13%5E2
x%5E2%2Bx%5E2-14x%2B49=169
2x%5E2-14x-120=0
x%5E2-7x-60=0
%28x-12%29%28x%2B5%29=0
Only the positive solution makes sense for this problem,
x-12=0
x=12
The length of the other leg is,
x-7=12-7=5
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.
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5-12-13 cm triangle.