SOLUTION: the square of the hypotenuse of a right angled isosceles triangle is 128 metres. find the length of the legs.

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Question 536326: the square of the hypotenuse of a right angled isosceles triangle is 128 metres. find the length of the legs.



Answer by Earlsdon(6294) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Use the Pythagorean theorem:
c%5E2+=+a%5E2%2Bb%5E2 where: c (the hypotenuse) squared is 128 and the other two sides (these are equal in an isosceles triangle) we'll a and a, so...
128+=+a%5E2%2Ba%5E2 Simplify.
128+=+2a%5E2 Divide by 2.
64+=+a%5E2 Take the square root of both sides.
a+=+8
The length of each leg is 8 meters.