Question

what is the missing leg
A leg is 5cm
B leg is 12cm
what is the hypotenuse

Answer 1

To find the hypotenuse of a right triangle when you know the lengths of both legs, you can use the Pythagorean theorem, which states that:

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

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

In your case, leg A is 5 cm and leg B is 12 cm. Plugging these values into the formula:

\[
c^2 = 5^2 + 12^2
\]

Calculating the squares:

\[
c^2 = 25 + 144
\]
\[
c^2 = 169
\]

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

\[
c = \sqrt{169} = 13
\]

So, the length of the hypotenuse is 13 cm.