In the given right triangle, find the missing length to the nearest tenth given the base is 17 ft and height is 11ft?

1 Answer
Jan 13, 2017

See the full solution process below

Explanation:

Because this is a right triangle we can use the Pythagorean theorem to solve this problem.

The Pythagorean theorem states:

#color(red)(a)^2 + color(blue)(b)^2 = c^2#

Where #color(red)(a)# and #color(blue)(b)# are the base and height.

Substituting the lengths from the problem we can solve for #x#:

#color(red)(17)^2 + color(blue)(11)^2 = c^2#

#289 + 121 = c^2#

#410 = c^2#

#sqrt(410) = sqrt(c^2)#

#20.2 = c#

The missing length is 20.2.