Question

Find the measure of the missing side. (Round to the nearest tenth - one decimal place)

Answer 1

6.5

Explanation:

This triangle has a right-angle, therefore it is a right-triangle. This means we can apply the Pythagorean Theorem:
`a^2+b^2=c^2`

a and b are the short sides, and c is the long side, called a hypotenuse

We know one side length (3.6) and the hypotenuse (7.4). We can plug these values into the equation.

`(3.6)^2+b^2=(7.4)^2\\12.96 + b^2 = 54.76\\b^2 = 54.76 - 12.96\\b^2 = 41.8\\b = √(41.8) \\b = 6.4652919501...`

To round to the tens place we look at the digit in the hundredths place. Because it is 6, we round 6.465... to 6.5