SSAT Upper Level Math : How to find the length of the side of a right triangle

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SSAT Upper Level Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Right Triangles

A right triangle has a hypotenuse of 39 and one leg is 36. What is the length of the other leg?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

You may recognize these numbers as multiples of 13 and 12 (each by a factor of 3) and remember that sides of length 5, 12 and 13 make a special right triangle. So the other leg would be 15 .

If you don't remember this, you can use Pythagorean theorem:

Example Question #2 : How To Find The Length Of The Side Of A Right Triangle

A right triangle has a hypotenuse of  and one leg has a length of . What is the length of the other leg?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

When calculating the lengths of sides of a right triangle, we can use the Pythagorean Theorem as follows:

, where  and  are legs of the triangle and  is the hypotenuse.

Plugging in our given values:

Subtracting  from each side of the equation:

Taking the square root of each side of the equation:

Simplifying the square root:

Example Question #3 : How To Find The Length Of The Side Of A Right Triangle

A right triangle has two legs of length  and , respectively. What is the hypotenuse of the right triangle?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

When calculating the lengths of sides of a right triangle, we can use the Pythagorean Theorem as follows:

, where  and  are legs of the triangle and  is the hypotenuse.

Plugging in our given values:

Example Question #4 : How To Find The Length Of The Side Of A Right Triangle

A right triangle has a leg of length  and a hypotenuse of length . What is the length of the other leg?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

When calculating the lengths of sides of a right triangle, we can use the Pythagorean Theorem as follows:

, where  and  are legs of the triangle and  is the hypotenuse.

Plugging in our given values:

Subtracting  from each side of the equation:

Example Question #1 : How To Find The Length Of The Side Of A Right Triangle

Find the length of the missing side.

1

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the missing side.

Example Question #2 : How To Find The Length Of The Side Of A Right Triangle

Find the length of the missing side.

2

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the missing side.

Example Question #1 : How To Find The Length Of The Side Of A Right Triangle

Find the length of the missing side.

3

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the missing side.

Example Question #4 : How To Find The Length Of The Side Of A Right Triangle

Find the length of the missing side.

4

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the missing side.

Example Question #5 : How To Find The Length Of The Side Of A Right Triangle

Find the length of the missing side.

5

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the missing side.

Example Question #6 : How To Find The Length Of The Side Of A Right Triangle

Find the length of the missing side.

6

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the missing side.

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