In a right-angled triangle, one of the legs is 3 cm, and the hypotenuse is 5 cm.

In a right-angled triangle, one of the legs is 3 cm, and the hypotenuse is 5 cm.Find the other leg and the height attributed to the hypotenuse

1. A, B, C – the vertices of the triangle. S – area. CE – height. ∠С = 90 °. AC = 3 centimeters.

AB = 5 centimeters.

2. ВС = √АВ²-АС² (by the Pythagorean theorem).

BC = √5² – 3² = √16 = 4 centimeters.

3. S = AC x BC / 2 = 3 x 4/2 = 6 centimeters².

4. We calculate the length of the height CE, using another formula for calculating the area of a triangle:

S = AB x CE / 2.

CE = 2S: AB = 2 x 6: 5 = 2.4 centimeters.

Answer: the length of the BC leg is 4 centimeters, the length of the CE height is 2.4 centimeters.



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