You can define a hypotenuse as a right triangle’s longest side. It’s the side that sits opposite the 90-degree right angle. You can also find the hypotenuse length using the Pythagorean theorem.
When you use a hypotenuse calculator, the detailing will surprise you. It incorporates several formulas to fit different circumstances you encounter.
Scenario one: two right triangle legs
When you have two right triangle legs, you can use the Pythagorean theorem to get your answer. To do so, you take the square root of the sum of squares.
c = √ (a² + b²)
Where c = the longest side
Scenario two: You have one angle and one leg
You use the law of sines.
c = a / sin(α) = b / sin(β)
Where c = the longest side
a = the shortest side
Scenario three: You have one leg and the area
You will know that a right triangle’s area is equal to a x b / 2, so you would use the following formula:
c = √ (a² + b²) = √ (a² + (area x 2 / a)²) = √((area x 2 / b)² + b²)
Formulas for a hypotenuse equation can be quite confusing unless you use a real-life example. Let’s say you see a nest of baby birds in a 10-foot tree that doesn’t have a mother to feed them. You want to retrieve the birds and look after them. You need to establish how long your ladder should be from the ground to the baby birds.
1. Choose the scenario that fits the best from the previous formulas. The safest angle for your ladder is 80 degrees, and the height is 10 feet. You can enter this information into the hypotenuse calculator.
2. The ladder length, which appears as the hypotenuse (c), is 10.154 feet.
3. You can then find out the second angle, which is 1.763 feet. The second angle is 10 degrees.