Question

If a triangle has sides of length 12 and 16, how long is the hypotenuse

Answer 1

The question seems to be referring to a right-angled triangle since it uses the term "hypotenuse," which is the longest side of a right triangle and is located opposite the right angle.

Given a right triangle with sides of length 12 and 16, you can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the length of the hypotenuse. The Pythagorean theorem states that in a right-angled triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse (c) is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sides (a and b):

c² = a² + b²

where:
c is the length of the hypotenuse,
a and b are the lengths of the other two sides.

Let's calculate the length of the hypotenuse (c):

a = 12
b = 16

c² = 12² + 16²
c² = 144 + 256
c² = 400

Now, take the square root of both sides to solve for c:

c = √(400)

c = 20

Therefore, the length of the hypotenuse is 20 units.