Question

For the following right triangle, find the side length x.158X

Answer 1

In order to calculate the value of x in this triangle, we can use the Pythagorean Theorem.

This theorem shows a relation between the hypotenuse (a) and legs (b and c) in any right triangle:

$a^2=b^2+c^2$

If the legs have lengths of 15 and 8, the hypotenuse x is:

$\begin{gathered} x^2=15^2+8^2 \\ x^2=225+64 \\ x^2=289 \\ x=17 \end{gathered}$

So the value of x is 17.