Question

jerrod found the hypotenuse of a right triangle with legs 3 ft and 1 ft. is his answer correct?
jerrods work
$c^{2}=3^{2}+1^{2}$
$c^{2}=9 + 1$
$c^{2}=8$
$c=sqrt{8}$
no, he made an error finding the square root.
no, he setup the pythagorean theorem incorrectly.
no, he subtracted 1 and 9 instead of adding.
yes, he correctly calculated the length of the hypotenuse.

Explanation:

Step1: Apply Pythagorean theorem

The Pythagorean theorem states that for a right - triangle with legs \(a\) and \(b\) and hypotenuse \(c\), \(c^{2}=a^{2}+b^{2}\). Here \(a = 3\) and \(b = 1\), so \(c^{2}=3^{2}+1^{2}=9 + 1=10\).

Step2: Analyze Jerrod's work

Jerrod calculated \(c^{2}=3^{2}+1^{2}=9 + 1 = 10\) incorrectly as \(c^{2}=9+1=8\) (he subtracted \(1\) from \(9\) instead of adding).

Answer:

No, he made an error finding the square root. He should have \(c^{2}=3^{2}+1^{2}=9 + 1=10\), not \(c^{2}=8\).