Jeremy is trying to explain why a triangle with side lengths 35, 30, 60 is not a right triangle. His explanation is shown below.

Question

Step 1: 35 squared + 30 squared question mark equals 60 squared
Step 2: (35 + 30) squared question mark equals 60 squared
Step 3: 65 squared question mark equals 60 squared
Step 4: 4,225 not-equals 3,600

Which best describes Jeremy’s explanation?
Jeremy’s explanation is accurate.
Jeremy’s explanation is inaccurate. He wrote the leg lengths in the incorrect order in step 1.
Jeremy’s explanation is inaccurate. He incorrectly combined terms in step 2.
Jeremy’s explanation is inaccurate. He multiplied incorrectly in step 4.

Answer 1

Jeremy’s explanation is inaccurate. He wrote the leg lengths in the incorrect order in step 1.

In a right triangle, the Pythagorean theorem states that \( a^2 + b^2 = c^2 \), where \( c \) is the length of the hypotenuse (the longest side). In this case, the correct sides to compare are \( 30 \) and \( 35 \) as the legs, and \( 60 \) as the hypotenuse. Therefore, the initial step he wrote was incorrect because he didn't correctly identify the hypotenuse when setting up the equation. The correct relationship should have been \( 30^2 + 35^2 \) compared to \( 60^2 \).