Adele takes a sheet of paper and cuts from one corner to the opposite corner, making two triangles. If the piece of paper is 9 inches long and 12 inches wide, how long is the diagonal cut that Adele made? _____ inches
Q. Adele takes a sheet of paper and cuts from one corner to the opposite corner, making two triangles. If the piece of paper is 9 inches long and 12 inches wide, how long is the diagonal cut that Adele made? _____ inches
Recognize Rectangle Shape: Recognize the paper forms a rectangle and the diagonal cut is the hypotenuse of a right triangle with sides 9 inches and 12 inches.
Apply Pythagorean Theorem: Use the Pythagorean Theorem, which is a2+b2=c2, where c is the hypotenuse and a and b are the other two sides.
Plug in Side Lengths: Plug in the lengths of the sides into the theorem: 92+122=c2.
Calculate Squares: Calculate the squares: 92=81 and 122=144.
Add Squares: Add the squares together: 81+144=225.
Solve for Hypotenize: Solve for c by taking the square root of 225: 225=c.
Calculate Square Root: Calculate the square root: 225=15.
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