In a right-angled triangle ABC, the hypotenuse is 20 cm, and one of the legs is 16 cm. Find the second leg of the triangle.

Rectangular is a triangle in which one of the corners is straight.

To calculate the length of the second leg, we use the Pythagorean theorem, according to which the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the legs:

AB ^ 2 = BC ^ 2 + AC ^ 2;

AC ^ 2 = AB ^ 2 – BC ^ 2;

AC ^ 2 = 20 ^ 2 – 16 ^ 2 = 400 – 256 = 144;

AC = √144 = 12 cm.

Answer: the length of the second leg of a right-angled triangle is 12 cm.