Question

The hypotenuse of a right triangle is 25 cm. The other two sides are such that one is 5 cm longer than the other. The lengths of these sides are ______.

Options

• 10 cm, 15 cm

• 15 cm, 20 cm

• 12 cm, 17 cm

• 13 cm, 18 cm

Answer 1

The hypotenuse of a right triangle is 25 cm. The other two sides are such that one is 5 cm longer than the other. The lengths of these sides are 15 cm, 20 cm.

Explanation:

Let the shorter side be x cm, the other x + 5 cm.

By Pythagoras, x² + (x + 5)² = 25². 

This simplifies to x² + 5x – 300 = 0, whose positive root is x = 15.

So the sides are 15 cm and 20 cm.