The sides of a right angle triangle in ascending order of magnitude are 8cm, (x-2)cm and x cm. Find x
Answer Details
In a right angle triangle, the square of the hypotenuse (the longest side) is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. Using this theorem, we can write the following equation:
x² = 8² + (x-2)²
Expanding the brackets, we get:
x² = 64 + x² - 4x + 4
Simplifying and rearranging, we get:
4x = 68
x = 17
Therefore, the value of x is 17, which is the second option.