To find the length of the hypotenuse in a right triangle with given side lengths, we can use the Pythagorean theorem. This theorem states that in a right triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse (c) is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sides (a and b). The formula can be expressed as:
c² = a² + b²
In your case, we have the two side lengths 18 and 24. Therefore, we assign:
- a = 18
- b = 24
- c = x (the hypotenuse)
By substituting these values into the Pythagorean theorem, we get:
x² = 18² + 24²
This expands to:
x² = 324 + 576
So,
x² = 900
Finally, to find x, we take the square root of both sides:
x = √900
Thus, the length of the hypotenuse x is 30. In summary, the equation you would use is x² = 18² + 24².