The longer leg of a right triangle is 1 foot shorter than twice the length of the shorter leg. The area of the triangle is 60 square feet. What is the length of the hypotenuse, in feet?

Respuesta :

Answer:

  17 feet

Step-by-step explanation:

Let x represent the shorter leg of the triangle. Then the longer leg is (2x-1) and the area is ...

  A = (1/2)bh = (1/2)(x)(2x-1) = 60

  2x^2 -x = 120 . . . . multiply by 2 and simplify

  2x^2 -x -120 = 0  . . . .  subtract 120

  (x -8)(2x +15) = 0 . . . . factor. The positive solution is x=8.

The square of the hypotenuse is ...

  hypotenuse^2 = x^2 + (2x -1)^2 = 8^2 + 15^2 = 289

  hypotenuse = √289 = 17

The length of the hypotenuse is 17 feet.