Question #N714

A right triangle has legs of length 5 and 12. What is the length of the hypotenuse of the triangle?
A. 13
B. 17
C. 19
D. 25

Correct Answer is: A

The Pythagorean Theorem states that in a right triangle, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the legs. In this case, we have: $5^2 + 12^2 = 25 + 144 = 169$. The square root of 169 is 13, so the length of the hypotenuse is 13.