The legs of a right triangle are 12 and 16. Find the height drawn from the top of the right angle.

The square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the legs. Hence, the hypotenuse of this triangle is equal to:

c = √ (122 + 162) = √ (144 + 256) = √400 = 20.

The area of a triangle can be found as half the product of the legs or as half of the product of the hypotenuse and the height drawn from a right angle:

0.5 * 12 * 16 = 0.5 * 20 * h;

h = 12 * 16/20 = 9.6 – the height drawn from the top of the right angle.