We are given a right angled triangle with one side of unknown length. The shortest side is 3cm long, and the longest side is 5cm long. Calculate the remaining side.

This is a classic question testing your understanding of Pythagoras' Theorem. This is an equation which shows us the relationship between the 3 sides of a right angled triangle : a2 + b2 = c2. a and b are the shorter sides, while c is the longest (the hypotenuse).For this question, we have a and c, but not b. If we subtract a from the left side of the equation and add it to the right side, we have b2 = c2 - a2. Now we can fill in our values: b2 = 52 - 32, or b2 = 16. Now we take the square root of both sides, and find that b = 4cm.

SM
Answered by Sean M. Maths tutor

3348 Views

See similar Maths GCSE tutors

Related Maths GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Rationalising the denominator (Surds)


1ii) sketch y=x^2-4x-21


A linear sequence begins: a + 2b, a + 6b, a + 10b, ..., ... Given that the 2nd term has a value of 8 and the 5th term has a value of 44, calculate the values for a and b


A linear sequence starts a + 2b, a +6b, a + 10b. The 2nd has a value of 8 and the 5th term has a value of 44. What are the values of a and b?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning