SOLUTION: A piece of wire 90 inches long is bent into a right triangle whose hypotenuse is 39 inches. How long is the shorter leg of the triangle?

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Question 728143: A piece of wire 90 inches long is bent into a right triangle whose hypotenuse is 39 inches. How long is the shorter leg of the triangle?
Answer by josgarithmetic(39614) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
legs are x and y. Hypotenuse is h.

x%2By%2Bh=90 and x%5E2%2By%5E2=h%5E2. You already are given h=39, so you have these:

x%2By%2B39=90 and x%5E2%2By%5E2=39%5E2. Two equations using two unknown variables.