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Right Triangle, Legs 5 cm and 12 cm: Name the Hypotenuse in 3 Seconds?
In a right triangle, the two legs measure 5 cm and 12 cm. What is the length of the hypotenuse?
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What is the answer to the 5 cm and 12 cm right triangle riddle?
The hypotenuse is 13 cm. Using the Pythagorean theorem: 5² + 12² = 25 + 144 = 169, and the square root of 169 is 13.
How do you find the hypotenuse of a right triangle?
Square both legs, add them together, then take the square root of the total. For legs of 5 and 12, that gives the square root of 169, which equals 13.
Why is the 5-12-13 triangle special?
It's a Pythagorean triple, meaning all three sides are whole numbers that satisfy a² + b² = c² exactly, so the hypotenuse lands on a clean 13 with no decimals — which is why it's worth memorizing for a fast, calculator-free answer.