SOLUTION: The area of a right triangle is 44 meters squared. Find the lenghts of its legs if one of the legs is 3 meters longer than the other.

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Question 400428: The area of a right triangle is 44 meters squared. Find the lenghts of its legs if one of the legs is 3 meters longer than the other.
Answer by Fombitz(32388) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
A=%281%2F2%29bh=44
Let x be the measure of the shorter leg.
x%28x%2B3%29=88
x%5E2%2B3x-88=0
%28x%2B8%29%28x-11%29=0
Two solutions:
x%2B8=0
x=-8
A negative solution doesn't make sense in this problem.
x-11=0
highlight%28x=11%29
The sides of the triangle are 11 and 14 meters.