Right Triangle Side Length: Finding BC When Area = 21

Question

ABC is a right triangle with an area of 21.

Calculate the length of side BC.

212121777AAABBBCCC

Video Solution

Solution Steps

00:00 Determine the value of BC
00:02 Apply the formula for calculating the triangle's area
00:06 (height(AB) x base(BC)) divided by 2
00:10 Substitute in the relevant values and calculate to determine BC
00:17 Multiply by 2 to avoid fractions
00:24 Isolate BC
00:31 Divide 21 by 7 to obtain 3
00:36 That's the solution

Step-by-Step Solution

To solve the problem, we start by identifying that the area of a right triangle is given by the formula:

Area=12×base×height\text{Area} = \frac{1}{2} \times \text{base} \times \text{height}

Given: Area=21 \text{Area} = 21 and one leg of the triangle, say the height AB=7 AB = 7 .

We denote the other leg, which we need to find, as BC BC . Thus:

21=12×7×BC21 = \frac{1}{2} \times 7 \times BC

Solving for BC BC , first multiply both sides by 2 to isolate the product of 7 7 and BC BC :

42=7×BC42 = 7 \times BC

Now, divide both sides by 7 to solve for BC BC :

BC=427=6BC = \frac{42}{7} = 6

Therefore, the length of side BC BC is 6\mathbf{6}.

Answer

6