In a right triangle, legs measure 6 and 8. What is the length of the hypotenuse?

In a right triangle, legs measure 6 and 8. What is the length of the hypotenuse?

• A. 4
• B. 3
• C. 10
• D. 12

Answer: (C)

The length of the hypotenuse in a right triangle comes from the Pythagorean theorem: the square of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares of the legs. With legs 6 and 8, c^2 = 6^2 + 8^2 = 36 + 64 = 100, so c = sqrt(100) = 10. This matches the familiar 3-4-5 triangle scaled by 2 (6-8-10), which reinforces why 10 is correct. The other values don’t fit: 4 and 3 are smaller than the legs, which isn’t possible for the hypotenuse; 12 would require c^2 to be 144, not 100.

The length of the hypotenuse in a right triangle comes from the Pythagorean theorem: the square of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares of the legs. With legs 6 and 8, c^2 = 6^2 + 8^2 = 36 + 64 = 100, so c = sqrt(100) = 10. This matches the familiar 3-4-5 triangle scaled by 2 (6-8-10), which reinforces why 10 is correct. The other values don’t fit: 4 and 3 are smaller than the legs, which isn’t possible for the hypotenuse; 12 would require c^2 to be 144, not 100.