Use the Pythagorean Theorem Quick Check
1 of 51 of 5 Items
Question
Use the image to answer the question.
A right triangle shows the base with a value of 3, the hypotenuse on the left with a value of 15, and the perpendicular side to the base on the right with a question mark.
Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to find the unknown side length in the given triangle. Round your answer to the nearest tenth.
(1 point)
Responses
216
216
14.7
14.7
234
234
15.3
We can use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the unknown side.
The Pythagorean Theorem states that in a right triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sides.
In this triangle, the base has a length of 3 and the hypotenuse has a length of 15. Let's call the length of the unknown side "x".
According to the Pythagorean Theorem, we can set up the following equation:
x^2 + 3^2 = 15^2
Simplifying, we have:
x^2 + 9 = 225
Subtracting 9 from both sides, we get:
x^2 = 216
Taking the square root of both sides, we find:
x ≈ 14.7
Therefore, the length of the unknown side is approximately 14.7.
The correct answer is:
14.7