The width of a rectangle is 7 centimeters, and the length of the rectangle is 8 centimeters. Which measurement is closest to the diagonal of this rectangle in centimeters?
To find the length of the diagonal, we can use the Pythagorean theorem, which states that in a right triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse (the diagonal in this case) is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.
In this rectangle, the length is 8 centimeters and the width is 7 centimeters. The diagonal will be the hypotenuse of a right triangle with the length as one side and the width as the other side.
Using the Pythagorean theorem, we can calculate the length of the diagonal:
diagonal² = length² + width²
diagonal² = 8² + 7²
diagonal² = 64 + 49
diagonal² = 113
Now, let's find the square root of both sides to find the length of the diagonal:
diagonal = √113
Using a calculator, we find that √113 is approximately 10.63.
Therefore, the measurement closest to the diagonal of this rectangle is 10.63 centimeters.