Question

Which of the following triangles is closest to being right? Explain your reasoning.

Answer 1

Answer: Second triangle.

Explanation:

For this exercise you need to use the Pythagorean Theorem. Based on it, you know that in a right triangle:

`a^2=b^2+c^2`

Where "a" is the hypotenuse of the right triangle and "b" and "c" are the legs.

In this case you can identify that the legs of the first triangle and the legs of the second triangle are equal. These are:

`b=7\\c=3.3`

Knowing their values, you can substitute them into the Pythagorean Theorem and solve for "a":

`a^2=(7)^2+(3.3)^2\\\\a=√((7)^2+(3.3)^2)\\\\a=7.738`

Therefore, you can conclude that the triangle that is closest to being a right triangle is the second one.