I I have the hypotenuse of a right triangle that is 50 yds long and the other two sides are equal in length, how do I find one of the sides.

Thank you

a^2+b^2=c^2

The two sides are equal and you know c, so..
2a^2=50
Solve for a.

Thank you so it would be a=5, correct

So sorry! It should be 2a^2=50^2

Jessie --

Each side should be about 35.36 yards.

2 a^2 = 50^2 = 2500

a^2 = 1250
a = 35.36 yds, and Ms Sue has stated.

To find the lengths of the sides of a right triangle, you can use the Pythagorean theorem. According to the theorem, the sum of the squares of the two legs (the sides that form the right angle) is equal to the square of the hypotenuse.

In this case, you have the hypotenuse length as 50 yards and the other two sides are equal. Let's call the length of each of the equal sides "x".

Using the Pythagorean theorem, we can write the equation:

x^2 + x^2 = 50^2

Simplifying the equation:

2x^2 = 2500

Divide both sides by 2:

x^2 = 1250

To find the length of one of the sides, take the square root of both sides:

√(x^2) = √1250

Simplifying the equation:

x ≈ √1250

Using a calculator, we can find the approximate value:

x ≈ 35.36

Therefore, one of the sides of the triangle is approximately 35.36 yards long.