McGraw Hill Glencoe Algebra 2, 2012
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McGraw Hill Glencoe Algebra 2, 2012 View details
8. The Pythagorean Theorem
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Exercise 2 Page P23

24km

Practice makes perfect

To find the missing side of the triangle, we will use the Pythagorean Theorem.

In the formula, a and b are the legs and c is the hypotenuse of a right triangle. We are given a triangle with b=32km and c=40km. Let's substitute these values into the formula.

a^2+b^2=c^2
a^2+ 32^2= 40^2
â–¼
Solve for a
a^2+1024=1600
a^2=576
a=sqrt(576)
a=24

Since a negative side length does not make sense, we only need to consider positive solutions.