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Printjmc
prealgebra senior
Problem
Two sides of a right triangle have the lengths 4 and 5. What is the product of the possible lengths of the third side? Express the product as a decimal rounded to the nearest tenth.
Solution
There are two possible right triangles. One of the triangles has and as its legs, so by the Pythagorean Theorem, the hypotenuse has a length of . The other possible triangle is that the longer length, , is the hypotenuse. We can use the Pythagorean Theorem to solve for the other leg, or we recognize that and are part of the Pythagorean triple , so the other leg has a length of units. Since the hypotenuse is the longest side in a right triangle, there isn't a triangle with a hypotenuse of and a leg of . So and are the only possible lengths of the third side. Using a calculator, we find that the product as a decimal rounded to the nearest tenth is .
Final answer
19.2