By definition, in an isosceles triangle, the two legs will have congruent lengths.
Since we know that one leg measures 5 inches, we know the other must measure 5 inches as well.
The Pythagorean Theorem states that in a right triangle, a² + b² = c².
Knowing that, we can substitute in our known values.
(5)² + (5)² = c²
From there, we can square our values.
(25) + (25) = c²
And from there, we can add the values together.
(50) = c²
Finally, we can find the square root of both values to give us the length of the hypotenuse.
7.07106781187 = c
And since we're rounding to the nearest tenth, we can rewrite this answer as:
7.1 = c
Therefore, the approximate length of the hypotenuse is 7.1 inches.
Hope this helped! :)
