If a right triangle has legs that are both 12 cm long, how long is the hypotenuse? Round the answer to the nearest hundredth
To find the length of the hypotenuse in a right triangle, we can use the Pythagorean theorem, which states that the square of the length of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sides.
In this case, the legs of the right triangle are both 12 cm long. Let's label the legs as side A and side B, and the hypotenuse as C.
So, we have:
A = 12 cm
B = 12 cm
Using the Pythagorean theorem:
C² = A² + B²
C² = 12² + 12²
C² = 144 + 144
C² = 288
To find the length of the hypotenuse (C), we need to take the square root of both sides:
C = √288
Now, let's calculate the approximate value for C by rounding it to the nearest hundredth.
C ≈ 16.97 cm
Therefore, the length of the hypotenuse of the right triangle is approximately 16.97 cm.