Question

Dana takes a sheet of paper and cuts from one corner to the opposite corner, making two triangles. If the piece of paper is 8 inches long and 5 inches wide, how long is the diagonal cut that Dana made? If necessary, round to the nearest tenth.

Answer 1

9.4 inches

Explanation:

The triangle formed is aright angled triangle with the right angle between the length and width of the paper cut hence the diagonal represents the hypotenuse side.

Recall that Pythagoras theorem states that

a^2 + b^2 = c^2 where c is the hypotenuse side and a, b are the opposite and adjacent sides

Hence

8^2 + 5^2 = c^2

c^2 = 64 + 25

= 89

Finding the roots of both sides

c = 9.433981132

To the nearest tenth

c = 9.4 inches