How do you calculate hypoteneous of a right angled triangle? - Answers

The hypotenuse is the longest side of the right triangle. To calculate the hypotenuse of a right triangle, you would square the sides, add them up, and find the square root of the sum. When you find the square root of the sum, that will be the hypotenuse of your right triangle. For instance, let's say you are given a triangle. We'll call it Triangle ABC. In the triangle, you have three sides, Side A, Side B, and Side C. Sides A and B will represent the two known legs, also the shortest legs. Side C will represent the hypotenuse, the side we're trying to find. We know that Side A is 5km and that Side B is 12km. Now we just have to calculate the hypotenuse of the right triangle. To do that you would square both sides and add them, first. Like this: (5 x 5) + (12 x 12) which is the same as saying 25 + 144. Now you find the sum, which is 169. Now, there is one last step, finding the square root of the sum. Our square root would be 13, because we know that 13 x 13=169. So now you have found the missing side, the hypotenuse of the right triangle (Side C) which is 13km. And that's how you find the hypotenuse of a right triangle. Hope I could help!