A right triangle and two of its side lengths are shown in the diagram. Which measurement is closest to the value of x?

One side is 12 cm another is 39 cm and the last side is x

1 Answer
Apr 1, 2018

sqrt1665 or 40.804411...

Explanation:

For a problem like this, you would utilize the Pythagorean Theorem, which says
a^2+b^2=c^2, where
a is the length of one leg,
b is the length of the other leg, and
c is the length of the hypotenuse, or the side opposite the right angle.

In your case, the two sides, a and b, have lengths of 12 and 39 cm each. If we plug these in, we get:

(12)^2+(39)^2=c^2
144+1521=c^2
1665=c^2
sqrt1665=c
40.804411...=c

Hope this helped!