In a right triangle, a and b are the lengths of the legs and c is the length of the hypotenuse. If a = 48 meters and b = 36 meters, what is c? If necessary, round to the nearest tenth.
c = _____ meters
In a right triangle, a and b are the lengths of the legs and c is the length of the hypotenuse. If a = 48 meters and b = 36 meters, what is c? If necessary, round to the nearest tenth. c = _____ meters
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To find the length of the hypotenuse ( c ) in a right triangle where ( a ) and ( b ) are the lengths of the legs, you can use the Pythagorean theorem, which states:
[
c^2 = a^2 + b^2
]
Given ( a = 48 ) meters and ( b = 36 ) meters, you can plug these values into the formula:
1. Calculate ( a^2 ) and ( b^2 ):
– ( a^2 = 48^2 = 2304 )
– ( b^2 = 36^2 = 1296 )
2. Add these values together:
– ( c^2 = 2304 + 1296 = 3600 )
3. Now take the square root to find ( c ):
– ( c = sqrt{3600} = 60 ) meters
So, the length of the hypotenuse ( c ) is 60 meters. If you need further explanations or have more questions, feel free to ask!