Use the equation to find the length of the missing leg measure.

a squared + 16 squared = 20 squared

1. Evaluate powers: a squared + 256 = 400
2. Undo addition: a squared = 144
3. Undo the square: a = StartRoot 144 EndRoot
What is the length of the missing leg measure?
a =
units

a = 12 units

Step-by-step explanation:

Equation given is

First we have to evaluate the powers.

= =

= =

So we can now write the equation again as:

Now we have to undo the addition,

Now we have to find the square root of to get the value of

 or

But the length of a leg cannot be a negative value, so we can take the +12.

a = 12 units