Pearson Geometry Common Core, 2011
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Pearson Geometry Common Core, 2011 View details
Mid-Chapter Quiz
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Exercise 9 Page 514

Compare the square of the largest side length to the sum of the squares of the other two side lengths.

Obtuse

Practice makes perfect

We want to determine whether the triangle formed by the given side lengths is acute, right, or obtuse. To do so, we will compare the square of the largest side length to the sum of the squares of the other two side lengths. Let a, b, and c be the lengths of the sides, with c being the longest.

Condition Type of Triangle
a^2+b^2 < c^2 Obtuse triangle
a^2+b^2 = c^2 Right triangle
a^2+b^2 > c^2 Acute triangle
Let's now consider the given side lengths 10, 12, and 16. Since 16 is the greatest of the numbers, we will let c be 16. We will also arbitrarily let a be 10 and b be 12. 10^2+12^2 ? 16^2 Let's simplify the above statement to determine whether the left-hand side is less than, equal to, or greater than the right-hand side.
10^2+12^2 ? 16^2
100+144 ? 256
244 < 256
Referring back to our table, we can conclude that the side lengths 10, 12, and 16 form an obtuse triangle.