What is the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle whose legs have lengths of 5 and 12?

To find the length of the hypotenuse in a right triangle, 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 two legs (a and b). The formula is:

c² = a² + b²

In this case, the lengths of the legs are 5 and 12. We can plug these values into the formula:

c² = 5² + 12²

This simplifies to:

c² = 25 + 144

So:

c² = 169

Now, to find the hypotenuse, we take the square root of both sides:

c = √169

Calculating this gives:

c = 13

Therefore, the length of the hypotenuse of the right triangle is 13.

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