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 3 Page P23

8.3cm

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 a=10cm and c=13cm. Let's substitute these values into the formula.

a^2+b^2=c^2
10^2+b^2= 13^2
â–¼
Solve for a
100+b^2=169
b^2=69
b=sqrt(69)
b≈ 8.307
b ≈ 8.3

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