The shorter leg of a right triangle is 5 yards. If the hypotenuse is 13 yards, how long is the other leg?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Pythagorean theorem states that in a right triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse (c) is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sides (a and b). Given a=5 and c=13, we solve for b: $c^2 = a^2 + b^2$ becomes $13^2 = 5^2 + b^2$, which simplifies to $169 = 25 + b^2$, and further to $144 = b^2$. Taking the square root of both sides gives $b = 12$.

The Shorter Leg of a Right Triangle Is 5 Yards