In a 45-45-90 triangle, what is the length of the hypotenuse when the length of one of the legs is 8 in.?

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1 Answer
Jun 2, 2018

The length of hypotenuse is #8sqrt(2)#. See explanation.

Explanation:

The triangle has 2 equal angles, so it is an isosceles triangle. It is also a right triangle, which means that the catheti have the same length. Using the Pythagorean theorem and the above fact we can write that:

#8^2+8^2=c^2#

#c^2=2*64#

#c=8sqrt(2)#