Answer: 12
Explanation:
You can use what is called geometric mean to solve this.
The hypotenuse of this triangle is split into two sections. One section corresponds to/equal to the altitude which is our "X", which corresponds to/equal to the second section.
You find "X" by using geometric mean and the proportion:
16/X=X/9
Then cross multiply to get 16 x 9= 144
then 144=x²
Solve for X.
X=12