Question

Two right triangles are similar. The legs of one of the triangles are 5 and 12. The second right triangle has a hypotenuse with a length of 39. What is the scale factor between the two triangles?

a. 4:3
b. 1:3
c. 2:6
d. 1:2

Answer 1

b. 1:3

Explanation:

To find the hypotenuse of the first triangle, use a^2 + b^2 = c^2

c = sqrt (5^2 + 12^2)

c = 13

From here, since they are similar, you can set up a proportion

13:39

1:3