Answer:
Follow the Pythagoreas theorm. You typically need to find [tex]C^2[/tex], which is the hypotonuse, but because we already know this, we can rearrange the equation to make sense.
Personally, I like to substitute with non-related numbers, such as 1 and 2. In the following example, the sides are 1 unit, 2 units, and 5 units. First, I like to figure out the sum of [tex]a^2[/tex] and [tex]b^2[/tex] .
EX: [tex]1^2+2^2= 5[/tex]
[tex]25^2=5[/tex]
I can rearrange this so that one leg and the hypotenuse are on the same side:
[tex]25^2-1^2=2^2[/tex]
Now I can take out the example numbers, and substiture in the variables.
[tex]c^2-a^2=b^2[/tex]
Now all I have to do is fill in the known variables!
[tex]15^2-12^2=b^2[/tex]
Solve!
[tex]225-144=80[/tex]
We're not done- we have to find the square root of 81!
It's 9m!
Finally, we can check our work by plugging [tex]A^2[/tex] and [tex]B^2[/tex] into the normal equation. It checks out!
[tex]12^{2} +9^{2} = 15^{2} \\=225 =225\\225=225[/tex]
Have questions? Let me know!
