How do you solve for the missing side, c, of a right triangle if $a=12$ and $b=16$ ?

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Answer 1 · 2018-03-03T21:20:00

See a solution process below:

The Pythagorean Theorem states, for a right triangle:

$c^2 = a^2 + b^2$

Where:

Substituting and solving for $c$ gives:

$c^2 = 12^2 + 16^2$

$c^2 = 144 + 256$

$c^2 = 400$

$sqrt(c^2) = sqrt(400)$

$c = 20$

How do you solve for the missing side, c, of a right triangle if a=12a=12 and b=16b=16?