Question

How do you solve for the missing side of a right triangle given a = 24 and b = 45?

Answer 1

`c = 51`

Explanation:

Pythagorean theorem: `a^2 + b^2 = c^2`
This theorem works with all right triangles.

We are given `a` and `b`. Let's plug these into the formula.

`(24)^2 + (45)^2 = c^2`

`576 + 2025 = c^2`

`2601 = c^2`

`51 = c`

We found `c`, or the length of the missing side, to be `51`.
We can check by plugging all of these values back into the formula and making sure they match up.

`576 + 2025 = 2601`

`2601 = 2601`