In a right triangle with legs 3 and 4, the hypotenuse is?

In a right triangle with legs 3 and 4, the hypotenuse is?

• A. 5
• B. 7
• C. 9
• D. 6

Answer: (A)

The Pythagorean theorem is used to find the hypotenuse in a right triangle. For legs 3 and 4, the hypotenuse squared equals 3^2 plus 4^2, which is 9 + 16 = 25. The hypotenuse is the square root of 25, giving 5. This is the well-known 3-4-5 right triangle, a reliable integer triple that often appears in problems like this. The other options don’t fit because their squares wouldn’t sum to 25, so they don’t satisfy c^2 = a^2 + b^2 for these leg lengths. Therefore, the hypotenuse is 5 units.

The Pythagorean theorem is used to find the hypotenuse in a right triangle. For legs 3 and 4, the hypotenuse squared equals 3^2 plus 4^2, which is 9 + 16 = 25. The hypotenuse is the square root of 25, giving 5. This is the well-known 3-4-5 right triangle, a reliable integer triple that often appears in problems like this. The other options don’t fit because their squares wouldn’t sum to 25, so they don’t satisfy c^2 = a^2 + b^2 for these leg lengths. Therefore, the hypotenuse is 5 units.