Question

A right triangle has a hypotenuse of 25 feet and a leg of 7 feet. What is the length of the other leg?

Answer 1

24 ft

Explanation:

The Pythagorean theorem states that the sum of the squares of the two legs is equal to the hypotenuse squared.

`7^2+x^2=25^2 rarr` I'll use x to represent the unknown leg.

`49+x^2=625`

`x^2=576`

`x=+-24 rarr` Eliminate the -24 answer choice; a side length cannot be negative

The other leg is 24 ft.

Answer 2

`24" feet"`

Explanation:

`"Apply "color(blue)"Pythagoras' theorem ""to the triangle"`

`"let the length of unknown leg be x"`

`rArr25^2=7^2+x^2`

`rArrx^2=25^2-7^2`

`rArrx=sqrt(625-49)=sqrt576=24" feet"`