Question

The legs of an isosceles right triangle are 5 inches long. What is the length of the hypotenuse of the triangle to the nearest inch?

Answer 1

`a^(2) + b^(2) = c^(2) \\ 5^(2) + 5^(2) = c^(2) \\ 25 + 25 = c^(2) \\ 50= c^(2) \\ √(50)= c \\ c=7.07`

`c` ≈
`7`

The hypotenuse is about 7 inches long.

Answer 2

The legs are 5 inches long.

Use the Pythagorean theorem:

`5^2+5^2=c^2 \\ 25+25=c^2 \\ 50=c^2 \\ c=√(50) \\ c=√(25 * 2) \\ c=5 √(2) \\ c \approx 7`

The length of the hypotenuse of the triangle is approximately 7 inches long.