EXAMPLE 3.7.1

Find the missing side length for each triangle shown below.

SOLUTIONS

1. According to the Pythagorean Theorem:

Note that C is not a whole number. This is not an unusual result when we use the Pythagorean Theorem.

2. In this case, in order to use the Pythagorean Theorem correctly we must realize that x represents the length of a leg, not the hypotenuse.