Question

the hypotenuse of a right triangle measures 20 cm and one of its legs measures 7 cm. find the measure of the other leg. if necessary, round to the nearest tenth.

Explanation:

Step1: Apply Pythagorean theorem

Let the hypotenuse be $c = 20$ cm and one leg be $a = 7$ cm. The Pythagorean theorem is $a^{2}+b^{2}=c^{2}$, where $b$ is the other leg. We can rewrite it as $b=\sqrt{c^{2}-a^{2}}$.

Step2: Substitute values

Substitute $c = 20$ and $a = 7$ into the formula: $b=\sqrt{20^{2}-7^{2}}=\sqrt{400 - 49}=\sqrt{351}$.

Step3: Calculate and round

$\sqrt{351}\approx18.7$ cm.

Answer:

$18.7$ cm