Brooke takes a sheet of paper and makes a diagonal cut from one corner to the opposite corner, making two triangles. The cut she makes is 20 centimeters long and the width of the paper is 12 centimeters. What is the paper's length?_____ centimeters
Q. Brooke takes a sheet of paper and makes a diagonal cut from one corner to the opposite corner, making two triangles. The cut she makes is 20 centimeters long and the width of the paper is 12 centimeters. What is the paper's length?_____ centimeters
Identify Problem: Identify the problem as a right triangle problem where the diagonal is the hypotenuse and the width is one leg. We need to find the other leg, which is the length of the paper.Calculation: Use the Pythagorean theorem, a2+b2=c2, where c is the hypotenuse (20cm), b is the width (12cm), and a is the length we need to find.
Calculate Using Pythagorean Theorem: Plug in the known values into the Pythagorean theorem.Calculation: 122+a2=202
Plug in Known Values: Simplify the equation to find a2.Calculation: 144+a2=400
Simplify Equation: Solve for a2.Calculation: a2=400−144a2=256
Solve for a2: Find the value of a by taking the square root of a2.Calculation: a=256a=16
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