Question

Find the length of the third side of the right triangle . simplify your answer type an exact answer using radicals as needed

Answer 1

We have a right triangle and we need to find the length of one of its legs.

We can write the Pyhtagorean theorem as:

$3^2+b^2=5^2$

Then, we can solve for b as:

$\begin{gathered} 3^2+b^2=5^2 \\ 9+b^2=25 \\ b^2=25-9 \\ b^2=16 \\ b=\sqrt[]{16} \\ b=4 \end{gathered}$

Answer: the length of b is 4 units.