Question

Finding the missing side of the right triangle. Round your answer to the nearest tenth. Click Here for Help Video.



2


13

Answer 1

To find the missing side of a right triangle, you can use the Pythagorean theorem. The formula is:

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

where \( c \) is the hypotenuse (the longest side) and \( a \) and \( b \) are the other two sides.

In your case, if \( a = 2 \) and \( c = 13 \), you can find \( b \) using the formula:

\[
2^2 + b^2 = 13^2
\]

Calculating this gives you:

\[
4 + b^2 = 169
\]

Now isolate \( b^2 \):

\[
b^2 = 169 - 4
\]
\[
b^2 = 165
\]

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

\[
b = \sqrt{165} \approx 12.845 \quad \text{(using a calculator)}
\]

Rounding to the nearest tenth, \( b \approx 12.8 \).

So, the missing side of the triangle is approximately **12.8**.