We are given a right angled triangle with one side of unknown length. The shortest side is 3cm long, and the longest side is 5cm long. Calculate the remaining side.

This is a classic question testing your understanding of Pythagoras' Theorem. This is an equation which shows us the relationship between the 3 sides of a right angled triangle : a2 + b2 = c2. a and b are the shorter sides, while c is the longest (the hypotenuse).For this question, we have a and c, but not b. If we subtract a from the left side of the equation and add it to the right side, we have b2 = c2 - a2. Now we can fill in our values: b2 = 52 - 32, or b2 = 16. Now we take the square root of both sides, and find that b = 4cm.

Answered by Sean M. Maths tutor

2339 Views

See similar Maths GCSE tutors

Related Maths GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Simplify (2sin45 - tan45)/(4tan60) and leave your answer in the form of (sqrt(a)-sqrt(b))/c


What is completing the square and how do you do it?


Solve the equation 4(3x-2)=2x-5


v^2 = u^2 + 2as u = 12 a = –3 s = 18 (a) Work out a value of v. (b) Make s the subject of v^2 = u^2 + 2as


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo
Cookie Preferences