19. The perimeter of a right triangle is 60 cm60\text{ cm} and its hypotenuse is 25 cm25\text{ cm}. Find the lengths of other two sides of the triangle.

Answer: The lengths of the other two sides of the triangle are 15 cm15\text{ cm} and 20 cm20\text{ cm}.

Step-by-step solution

Step 1: Express the sides in terms of a single variable

Let the lengths of the two legs of the right triangle be aa and bb, and let the hypotenuse be c=25 cmc = 25\text{ cm}. Since the perimeter is the sum of all 3 sides, we have a+b+25=60a + b + 25 = 60, which simplifies to a+b=35a + b = 35. If we let one side be x cmx\text{ cm}, the other side is (35−x) cm(35 - x)\text{ cm}.

Step 2: Apply Pythagoras theorem to form a quadratic equation

By Pythagoras theorem, the sum of the squares of the legs of a right triangle is equal to the square of its hypotenuse. Substituting the lengths xx, 35−x35 - x, and 2525, we obtain the equation x2+(35−x)2=252x^2 + (35 - x)^2 = 25^2.

Step 3: Expand and simplify into standard quadratic form

Expanding (35−x)2(35 - x)^2 gives 1225−70x+x21225 - 70x + x^2. Combining like terms yields 2x2−70x+1225=6252x^2 - 70x + 1225 = 625. Subtracting 625625 from both sides gives 2x2−70x+600=02x^2 - 70x + 600 = 0, and dividing the entire equation by 22 simplifies it to x2−35x+300=0x^2 - 35x + 300 = 0.

Step 4: Solve the quadratic equation by factorisation

We find two numbers whose sum is −35-35 and whose product is 300300. These numbers are −20-20 and −15-15. Factoring by grouping gives (x−20)(x−15)=0(x - 20)(x - 15) = 0, which yields the solutions x=20x = 20 or x=15x = 15.

Step 5: State the lengths of the two sides

When one side is 20 cm20\text{ cm}, the other side is 35−20=15 cm35 - 20 = 15\text{ cm}. Conversely, if one side is 15 cm15\text{ cm}, the other is 20 cm20\text{ cm}. Hence, the lengths of the other two sides are 15 cm15\text{ cm} and 20 cm20\text{ cm}.

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