Question
The hypotenuse of a right triangle is 23 centimeters long. Find possible measures for the legs of the triangle. Round to the nearest hundredth. Justify your answer. -what the answer's someone please tell me!
Answers
Reiny
There will be an infinite number of solutions.
e.g. if one leg is 5
x^2 + 5^2 = 23^2
x^2 = 529-25 = 504
x = √504 = appr 22.45 , so one answer: 5 cm , 22.45 cm
let one side be 8
x^2 + 8^2 = 23^2
x^2 = 465
x = appr 21.56 cm
etc
e.g. if one leg is 5
x^2 + 5^2 = 23^2
x^2 = 529-25 = 504
x = √504 = appr 22.45 , so one answer: 5 cm , 22.45 cm
let one side be 8
x^2 + 8^2 = 23^2
x^2 = 465
x = appr 21.56 cm
etc