Question

If the hypotenuse of a right triangle is 13 and one of its legs is 5, find the area fo the triangle.

Answer Choices
20
40
45
30
25

I know a hypotenuse the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle. You can't multiply the hypotenuse with one of the legs.

Answer 1

Use Pythagorean Theorem to find the other side. a^2 + b^2 = c^2

You have a = 5, and c (the hypotenuse) = 13, so
5^2 + b^2 = 13^2
b = ? (it's a whole number)

The area of a triangle is (1/2) * base * height

After you have found b, you have the two sides a and b - find the area.

Answer 2

Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the other leg. Then use that to find the area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_theorem

I hope this helps. Thanks for asking.

Answer 3

The equation would be ? + 5^2 = 13^2 So it would turn into ? + 25 = 169 Then you rearrange the equation so that you can find the length of the other leg and solve it. 169 - 25 = 144 Then find the square root of 144 which would be 12. So the answer is 12