Given that the pair of triangles are similar, then their corresponding sides are in proportion, this means that:
[tex]\frac{\text{longer leg of the triangle on the left}}{\text{shorter leg of the triangle on the left}}=\frac{\text{longer leg of the triangle on the right}}{\text{shorter leg of the triangle on the right}}[/tex]
Substituting with the information of the diagram:
[tex]\frac{27}{x}=\frac{x}{9}[/tex]
Cross multiplying:
[tex]\begin{gathered} 27\cdot9=x\cdot x \\ 243=x^2 \\ \sqrt[]{243}=x \\ 15.58\approx x \end{gathered}[/tex]
Considering the triangle on the left, and applying the Pythagorean theorem with c = y (the hypotenuse), a = 27, and b = x (the legs), we get:
[tex]\begin{gathered} c^2=a^2+b^2 \\ y^2=27^2+x^2 \\ y^2=729+243 \\ y^2=972 \\ y=\sqrt[]{972} \\ y\approx31.18 \end{gathered}[/tex]
