the longer leg of a right triangle is four times the length of the shorter leg. If the hypotenuse is 9 cm, find the shorter leg.

Answer 1

a² + b² = c²

Let leg b be the longer leg. It is 4 times longer than leg a, so it 4a in length. The hypotenuse, c, equals 9.

a² + b² = c²

a² + (4a)² = 9²

a² + 16a² = 81

17a² = 81

Solve for a.