PYTHAGOREAN THEOREM
Trigonometry
Example:
The two legs of a right triangle are 5 ft and 12 ft. How long is the hypotenuse?
Let the hypotenuse be c ft.
a2 + b2 = c2
122 + 52 = c2
144 + 25 = c2
169 = c2
169
c
13 ft = c
Using the Pythagorean theorem, one can determine the value of the unknown side of a right
triangle when given the value of the other two sides.
Example:
Given that the hypotenuse of a right triangle is 18" and the length of one side is 11",
what is the length of the other side?
a2 b2
c2
112 b2
182
b2 182
112
b2
324 121
b
203
b 14.2 in
MA-04
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