How do you find the length of the missing side given a? b=24 c=40?

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Answer 1 · 2016-06-29T00:39:35

a = 32

To answer this problem, you should use the Pythagorean Theorem:

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The hypotenuse (c=40) and one of the legs (b=24) are known, so all we have to do is solve for a. We can do that by plugging in our known values:

$a^2+24^2=40^2$

$24^2$ or $24xx24$ = 576
$40^2$ or $40xx40$ = 1600

Thus, $a^2+576=1600$ . Now subtract 576 from both sides of the equation to get $a^2$ by itself:

$a^2+576=1600$
-576 -576

You should end up with:

$a^2=1024$

Next, take the square root of both sides to find a. The square root
( $sqrt$ ) is the inverse of the square ( $a^2$ )

$sqrt (a^2) = sqrt1024$

Therefore, a = 32

You can check your answer by plugging a and b into the equation and solve for c to see if your answer matches the given value of c:

$32^2+24^2=40^2$