The hypotenuse of a right triangle is 15 units long. If one of the legs is 12 units long, how long is the other leg?
Type 1 number
To solve this problem, we can use the Pythagorean theorem, which states that in a right triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sides.
Let's call the length of the other leg "x".
Using the Pythagorean theorem, we have:
x^2 + 12^2 = 15^2
Simplifying this equation, we get:
x^2 + 144 = 225
Subtracting 144 from both sides of the equation, we have:
x^2 = 81
Taking the square root of both sides of the equation, we have:
x = 9
Therefore, the length of the other leg is 9 units.