The hypotenuse of a right triangle is 50 meters long and one side is 30 meters long. What is the length of the remaining side?

1 Answer
Jun 10, 2018

40

Explanation:

Use Pythagorean's Theorem:

#a^2+b^2=c^2#

you have #c# and on side.

#a^2+30^2=50^2#

#a^2+900=2500#

#a^2=2500-900#

#a^2=1600#

#a=sqrt1600#

#a=40#

You might also note that this triangle is a "pythagorean triple", a 3,4,5 triangle multiplied by 10 and immediately deduce the missing side must be 40.