If a=8 and b=6, how do you find c?

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Answer 1 · 2018-05-17T00:28:00

$c=10$

If $a,b,c$ are the sides of a right triangle, and $c$ is the hypotenuse (the longest side), then the Pythagorean theorem states that:

$color(white)(mmmmmmmmm)color(blue)(bar(ul|a^2+b^2=c^2|))$

So here, $a=8,b=6$ .

$:.c^2=8^2+6^2$

$=64+36$

$=100$

$c=sqrt(100)$

$=+-10$

Since this is a length, we cannot take the negative side, as that'll make no sense! So, we only take the positive root, and the final answer is:

$c=10$