Question

find B 20 ft 12 ft
What is the length of the missing leg? If necessary, round to the nearest tenth.
b=
feet

Answer 1

To find the length of the missing leg in a right triangle when you have two legs, you can use the Pythagorean theorem, which is expressed as:

\[
a^2 + b^2 = c^2
\]

where \(c\) is the hypotenuse and \(a\) and \(b\) are the lengths of the legs.

From your question, it sounds like you have one leg measuring 20 ft and the other leg measuring 12 ft. Since these are the legs of the right triangle, we will determine the hypotenuse \(c\):

\[
a = 20 \, \text{ft}
\]
\[
b = 12 \, \text{ft}
\]

Now, we can calculate \(c\):

\[
c^2 = a^2 + b^2
\]

\[
c^2 = 20^2 + 12^2
\]

\[
c^2 = 400 + 144
\]

\[
c^2 = 544
\]

Now, take the square root of both sides to find \(c\):

\[
c = \sqrt{544}
\]

Calculating that gives:

\[
c \approx 23.3 \, \text{ft} \, (\text{rounded to the nearest tenth})
\]

So, if you have two legs (20 ft and 12 ft), the hypotenuse (or missing leg) is approximately 23.3 ft. If you need clarification or additional information, please specify.