theorem pythagorean' ! help please !
The hypotenuse of a right isosceles triangle has length of 20 cm . The sum of the lengths of the other sides equals ?...
Answers
The square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the two shorter sides.
If the hypotenuse is 20cm then the total of the other two sides added together will also be 20cm.
10 December 2010
If we use the theory jon has mentioned in the first answer then 20 squared = 400. This means that the square of the other two sides in the triangle must total 400 (Pythagoras theorem). But because this is an isosceles triangle the two shorter sides must be equal. So if we say that the shorter sides of the triangle are labelled as x then x squared + x squared = 400. But x squared + x squared = 2x squared. So 2x squared = 400. Now you have an equation to solve. Dividing both sides by 2 gives you x squared = 200. So x equals the square root of 200 = 14.1cm. Each side would be 14.1cm so the total of the two shorter sides is 28.2cm. Hope this helps
10 December 2010
Add an answer
Similar questions