In a 45-45-90 triangle, the legs are of equal length, and the hypotenuse is always equal to the length of a leg multiplied by the square root of 2. Given that each leg of the triangle measures 12 cm, we can calculate the hypotenuse using the formula:
Hypotenuse = Leg × √2
Substituting the values into the formula:
Hypotenuse = 12 cm × √2
Calculating this gives:
Hypotenuse = 12 cm × 1.4142 (approximately)
Hypotenuse ≈ 16.97 cm
Therefore, the length of the hypotenuse is approximately 16.97 cm.