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Using the pythagorean theorem, how do you solve for the missing side given c = 65 and a = 56?

1 Answer

Apr 27, 2016

$b = 33$ $b=33$

Explanation:

Assuming $c = 65$ $c=65$ is the hypotenuse and $a = 56$ $a=56$ is one of the legs, the Pythaorgean Theorem tells us:

$a^{2} + b^{2} = c^{2}$ $a^2+b^2=c^2$

So:

$b^{2} = c^{2} - a^{2} = 65^{2} - 56^{2} = 4225 - 3136 = 1089 = 33^{2}$ $b^2 = c^2-a^2 = 65^2-56^2 = 4225-3136 = 1089 = 33^2$

Since we want $b > 0$ $b > 0$ we want the positive square root of $1089$ $1089$ , namely $b = 33$ $b=33$ .

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