What is the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle whose legs have lengths of 5 and 12?

Solution:

From the pythagorean theorem, the sum of the squares of the legs is equal to the square of the hypotenuse.

Let a = 5, b = 12, 

To find: the hypotenuse 'c'

a² + b² = c²

Substituting the values

5² + 12² = c²

By further calculation

25 + 144 = c²

169 = c²

c = √169

So we get,

c = 13

Therefore, the length of the hypotenuse is 13.

What is the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle whose legs have lengths of 5 and 12?

Summary:

The length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle whose legs have lengths of 5 and 12 is 13.