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Question

A right triangle shows the base with a value of 3, the hypotenuse on the left with a value of 15, and the perpendicular side to the base on the right with a question mark.

Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to find the unknown side length in the given triangle. Round your answer to the nearest tenth.

(1 point)
Responses

216
216

15.3
15.3

14.7
14.7

234
234
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Answer 1

To apply the Pythagorean Theorem, we can use the equation:

\(a^2 + b^2 = c^2\)

where a and b are the sides of the right triangle and c is the hypotenuse.

In this case, the base (a) has a value of 3 and the hypotenuse (c) has a value of 15. We are trying to find the unknown side length (b).

Plugging in the known values into the equation, we get:

\(3^2 + b^2 = 15^2\)

\(9 + b^2 = 225\)

Subtracting 9 from both sides, we get:

\(b^2 = 216\)

Taking the square root of both sides, we find:

\(b = \sqrt{216} \approx 14.7\)

So, the unknown side length is approximately 14.7.

The correct answer is 14.7.