Question

Which equation can be used to find the unknown length, a, in this triangle?

Answer 1

For this case, what we must do is find an equation where we can clear the value of a.

We observe that the triangle has an angle of 90 degrees.

We then have to use the Pythagorean theorem to solve the problem.

We have then:

`image`

From here, we can clear the value of a.

Answer:

An equation that can be used to find the unknown length, a, in this triangle is:

`a ^ 2 + 15 ^ 2 = 17 ^ 2`

Answer 2

Using the Pythagorean Theorem a^2 + b^2 = C^2

a and b are the sides and C is the Hypotenuse.

The picture you have sides of a and 15 and the hypotenuse is 17

The formula becomes a^2 + 15^2 = 17^2