Question

A right triangle has a leg measuring 34 yards a side leg measuring 16 yards. what is the length of the missing leg. Round to the nearest tenth if necessary

Answers

GPT-4o mini
In a right triangle, you can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the length of the missing side. The theorem states that:

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

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

Given:
- One leg \(a = 34\) yards
- The other leg \(b = 16\) yards

To find the missing leg \(c\) (the length of the hypotenuse), we rearrange the formula as follows:

\[
c = \sqrt{a^2 + b^2}
\]

Now, plug in the values of \(a\) and \(b\):

\[
c = \sqrt{34^2 + 16^2}
\]

Calculating the squares:

\[
34^2 = 1156
\]
\[
16^2 = 256
\]

Adding these:

\[
c = \sqrt{1156 + 256} = \sqrt{1412}
\]

Now, calculate the square root:

\[
c \approx 37.5
\]

So, the length of the hypotenuse (the missing leg) is approximately **37.5 yards**.