Question

in a right triangle, a and b are the lengths of the legs and c is the length of the hypotenuse. if a = 9 feet and c = 10 feet, what is b? if necessary, round to the nearest tenth. b = feet

Explanation:

Step1: Apply Pythagorean theorem

In a right - triangle, $a^{2}+b^{2}=c^{2}$, so $b^{2}=c^{2}-a^{2}$.

Step2: Substitute given values

Given $a = 9$ and $c = 10$, then $b^{2}=10^{2}-9^{2}=100 - 81=19$.

Step3: Solve for b

$b=\sqrt{19}\approx4.4$ (rounded to the nearest tenth).

Answer:

$4.4$