Question

Using the Pythagorean Theorem, how do you find the length of a leg of a right triangle if the other leg is 8 feet long and the hypotenuse is 10 feet long?

Answer 1

The other leg is `6` feet long.

Explanation:

Pythagorean Theorem tells that in a right angled triangle, sum of the squares of two perpendicular lines is equal to the square of hypotenuse.

In the given problem, one leg of a right triangle is `8` feet long and the hypotenuse is `10` feet long,. Let the other leg be `x`, then under the theorem

`x^2+8^2=10^2` or `x^2+64=100` or `x^2=100-64=36` i.e.

`x=+-6`, but as `-6` is not permissible, `x=6` i.e.

The other leg is `6` feet long.