Answer:
4.4 ft
Step-by-step explanation:
The sides of a right triangle are "tied together" mathematically by an equation called the Pythagorean theorem, which says: in any right triangle, the relationship between the two sides that make the right angle (we'll call them a and b) and the side across from it (c) is
[tex]a^2+b^2=c^2[/tex]
Let's sustitute these for the values we have in our problem (measured in feet)
[tex]9^2+a^2=10^2\\81+a^2=100\\a^2=19\\a=\sqrt{19}[/tex]
19 is between the perfect squares [tex]4^2=16[/tex] and [tex]5^2=25[/tex], so [tex]\sqrt{19}[/tex] must be between 4 and 5, a little bit closer to 4. Punching the expression into the calculator confirms this with a value of [tex]\sqrt{19}\approx4.3588[/tex] which we can round to 4.4 ft.
