Use Pythagorean's Theorem to solve for the missing leg length.
[tex] 32^2-18^2=a^2 [/tex]
with a being the length of the missing leg. Simplifying we have
[tex] 1024-324=a^2 [/tex]
and
[tex] a^2=700 [/tex]. If we are told to express our answer to the nearest tenth of an inch, then we are simply plugging that into our calculator to get 26.45 or, rounded correctly, 26.5