How to Find the Base of a Right Triangle

To find the base of a right triangle, you can use the Pythagorean theorem if you know the lengths of the other sides. The theorem states that in a right triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sides.

Here’s how to do it step by step:

1. If you know the length of the hypotenuse (let’s call it ‘c’) and one of the other sides (let’s say ‘a’), you can find the base (‘b’) using the formula: b = √(c² – a²).
2. Simply square the length of the hypotenuse, subtract the square of the known side, and then take the square root of the result. This gives you the length of the base.

For example, if the hypotenuse is 10 units long and one side is 6 units long, you would calculate it like this:

b = √(10² – 6²)
So, b = √(100 – 36) = √64 = 8.

This means the base of the triangle is 8 units long.

In summary, as long as you have the lengths of the hypotenuse and one other side, finding the base of a right triangle is straightforward using the Pythagorean theorem.