Question

***FAN AND MEDAL!****

Suppose someone constructs a shell so that each new "shell leg" is 1 centimeter long and forms a right triangle. The measurements of the original shell are shown. Find the lengths of W, X, Y, and Z. Assume that the angle formed by the new leg and hypotenuse of the prior triangle form a right angle.

Give your answers as square roots and decimals. Describe the pattern of measurements created from this Right Triangle Shell.

Answer 1

@Hero @phi

Answer 2

it looks like you should use pythagoras lots of times.

Answer 3

Im reviewing befor I go back to school and I need to know how to do this. and whats Pythagoras?

Answer 4

Pythagorean theorem is the most famous theorem in math

a^2 + b^2 = c^2

where a and b are the lengths of the "legs" of a right triangle
and c is the hypotenuse (longest side)

Answer 5

see http://www.khanacademy.org/math/geometry/right_triangles_topic/pyth_theor/v/the-pythagorean-theorem
if you need more info

Answer 6

oh, I know how to find the hypotenuse. but I only have one leg measure on each triangle (1 centimeter) so idk what to do

Answer 7

@asnaseer @aaronq @AriPotta @Yahoo! @cwrw238 @countonme123

Answer 8

do you see the very first triangle with sides of 1 cm and 1 cm
they did
1^2 + 1^2 = c^2

1*1 + 1*1 = c^2
1 + 1 =c^2
2 = c^2
take the square root of both sides
sqrt(2) = c

the hypotenuse of the first triangle is sqrt(2), just like they show.

now , what are the legs of the 2nd triangle ?

Answer 9

the legs are the 2 sides that are not the hypotenuse

Answer 10

ohhhh, now I get it. thank you very much sir :)

Answer 11

can you figure out w ?