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McGraw Hill Integrated II, 2012

MH

McGraw Hill Integrated II, 2012 View details

2. The Pythagorean Theorem and Its Converse

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Exercise 3 Page 633

Use the Pythagorean Theorem.

15.5

Practice makes perfect

To find the missing side of the triangle, we will use the Pythagorean Theorem. a^2+b^2=c^2

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=x, b=4, and c=16.

Let's substitute these values into the formula.

a^2+b^2=c^2

SubstituteValues

Substitute values

x^2+ 4^2= 16^2

▼

Solve for x

Calculate power

x^2+16=256

LHS-16=RHS-16

x^2=240

sqrt(LHS)=sqrt(RHS)

x=sqrt(240)

Simplify root

x=4sqrt(15)

Use a calculator

x=15.491933...

Round to 1 decimal place(s)

x≈ 15.5

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

Subchapter links

Exercises p.633-637