Question

in a right triangle, a and b are the lengths of the legs and c is the length of the hypotenuse. if a = 2 feet and b = 1 foot, what is c? if necessary, round to the nearest tenth. c = feet

Explanation:

Step1: Apply Pythagorean theorem

$c^{2}=a^{2}+b^{2}$
Substitute $a = 2$ and $b = 1$: $c^{2}=2^{2}+1^{2}$

Step2: Calculate the right - hand side

$c^{2}=4 + 1=5$

Step3: Solve for c

$c=\sqrt{5}\approx2.2$

Answer:

$2.2$