Question 285376
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Depends on whether the "x" is the measure of the hypotenuse or one of the legs of the right triangle.


If *[tex \Large x] is the measure of the hypotenuse, there are two ways to go about it.  You can recall that 3-4-5 is a Pythagorean triple and notice that 15 is 3 times 5 and 20 is 4 times 5 so the hypotenuse must be 5 times 5 or 25.  Or you can use the Pythagorean theorem to write:


*[tex \LARGE \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ x\ =\ \sqrt{15^2\ +\ 20^2}]


and do the indicated arithmetic.


On the other hand, if *[tex \Large x] is NOT the measure of the hypotenuse, then the hypotenuse must measure 20 and you need to solve:


*[tex \LARGE \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ x\ =\ \sqrt{20^2\ -\ 15^2}]



John
*[tex \LARGE e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0]
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