One of the legs of a right triangle measures 12 cm and its hypotenuse measures 15 cm. Find the measure of the other leg. If necessary, round to the nearest tenth.

Answer 1

We can use the Pythagorean theorem to solve for the missing leg. Let's call the missing leg "x":

a^2 + b^2 = c^2

where a and b are the legs of the right triangle, and c is the hypotenuse. Plugging in the values we know, we get:

12^2 + x^2 = 15^2

144 + x^2 = 225

Subtracting 144 from both sides, we get:

x^2 = 81

Taking the square root of both sides, we get:

x = 9

Therefore, the other leg of the right triangle measures 9 cm.