To find the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle with legs of length 12 cm, we can use the Pythagorean theorem, which states:
\[ c^2 = a^2 + b^2 \]
where \(c\) is the length of the hypotenuse, and \(a\) and \(b\) are the lengths of the legs.
In this case, both legs are of length 12 cm:
\[ c^2 = 12^2 + 12^2 \] \[ c^2 = 144 + 144 \] \[ c^2 = 288 \]
Now, we take the square root of both sides to find \(c\):
\[ c = \sqrt{288} \]
Calculating the square root:
\[ c \approx 16.97 \]
Rounding to the nearest hundredth gives us approximately 16.97 cm. Thus, the answer is:
16.97