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The hypotenuse of a right triangle measures 
17cm and one of its legs measures 
8cm. Find the measure of the other leg. If necessary, round to the nearest tenth.
Answer: 
cm

The hypotenuse of a right triangle measures 17 cm 17 \mathrm{~cm} and one of its legs measures 8 cm 8 \mathrm{~cm} . Find the measure of the other leg. If necessary, round to the nearest tenth.\newlineAnswer: \square cm \mathrm{cm}

Full solution

Q. The hypotenuse of a right triangle measures 17 cm 17 \mathrm{~cm} and one of its legs measures 8 cm 8 \mathrm{~cm} . Find the measure of the other leg. If necessary, round to the nearest tenth.\newlineAnswer: \square cm \mathrm{cm}
  1. Identify Formula: Identify the formula to use for a right triangle.\newlineWe will use the Pythagorean theorem, which states that in a right triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse cc is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sides aa and bb. The formula is c2=a2+b2c^2 = a^2 + b^2.
  2. Plug in Values: Plug in the known values into the Pythagorean theorem.\newlineWe know the hypotenuse cc is 1717 cm and one leg aa is 88 cm. We need to find the other leg bb.\newlineSo, 172=82+b217^2 = 8^2 + b^2.
  3. Calculate Squares: Calculate the squares of the known sides.\newline172=28917^2 = 289 and 82=648^2 = 64.\newlineSo, 289=64+b2289 = 64 + b^2.
  4. Subtract Squares: Subtract the square of the known leg from the square of the hypotenuse to find the square of the other leg. 28964=b2289 - 64 = b^2. 225=b2225 = b^2.
  5. Take Square Root: Take the square root of both sides to solve for bb.225=b\sqrt{225} = b.15=b15 = b.
  6. Check Answer: Check if the answer is reasonable.\newlineThe other leg bb is 1515 cm, which is less than the hypotenuse 1717 cm and greater than the known leg 88 cm, which makes sense in the context of a right triangle.

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