In a right- angled triangle, the two sides that form the right angle are both 5 inches. How do you find the length of the other side (the hypotenuse)?

1 Answer
marfre
Jun 14, 2018

5 sqrt(2) inches

Explanation:

Given: A right triangle with two sides 5 inches.

To find the hypotenuse you can use the Pythagorean Theorem:

5^2 + 5^2 = h^2, where h is the hypotenuse

h = sqrt(25 + 25) = sqrt(50) = sqrt(25 * 2) = sqrt(25)sqrt(2) = 5 sqrt(2)

The other way to solve is to realize that a 45^@-45^@-90^@ triangle has the side proportions: 1:1:sqrt(2)

This means if the sides are 5 inches, the sides would be: 5:5:5sqrt(2)

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