Question 117999
Find the missing length of the right triangle.
The "downward slant", also known as the hypotenuse in a right triangle, is 17.
The "bottom", also known as the base, is 15.
You can apply the Pythagorean theorem {{{c^2 = a^2+b^2}}} to solve this problem.
c is the hypotenuse and this is given as 17.
a is one of the legs and this is given as 15.
b is the other leg whose length is unknown.

{{{c^2 = a^2+b^2}}} Substitute c = 17 and a = 15.
{{{17^2 = 15^2+b^2}}} Square the numbers.
{{{289 = 225+b^2}}} Subtract 225 from both sides.
{{{64 = b^2}}} Take the square root of both sides.
{{{b = 8}}} This is the length of the unknown side.