In isosceles right triangles such as the one shown below, the angles always measure 45^\circ, 45^\circ, and 90^\circ.

Consequently, isosceles right triangles are often called \boldsymbol{45^\circ} - \boldsymbol{45^\circ} - \boldsymbol{90^\circ} triangles.



All 45^\circ - 45^\circ - 90^\circ triangles share a special property:

In any {45^\circ} - {45^\circ} - {90^\circ} triangle, the length of the hypotenuse is \sqrt{2} times the length of a leg.

To see why this is, remember that

  • in an isosceles triangle, the two legs must have the same length, and

  • in a right triangle, the square of the longest side must equal the sum of the squares of the two shorter sides.

So, if an isosceles right triangle has legs of length a and the hypotenuse has length h, then we have

\begin{align*} h^2 &= a^2 + a^2 \\[3pt] h^2 &= 2a^2 \\[3pt] h &= \sqrt{2a^2} \\[3pt] h &= \sqrt{2}\cdot a. \end{align*}

FLAG

If the side that is opposite to a 45^\circ angle in an isosceles right triangle has a length of 3, what is the length of the hypotenuse?


EXPLANATION

The hypotenuse in an isosceles right triangle is equal to \sqrt{2} times the length of a leg.

The legs of an isosceles right triangle are the sides that are opposite the 45^\circ angles. So in the given triangle, the legs have length 3.

Consequently, the hypotenuse has a length of \sqrt{2} \cdot 3 = 3\sqrt{2}.

FLAG

If the side that is opposite to a $45^\circ$ angle in an isosceles right triangle has a length of $\dfrac{3\sqrt2}{2},$ what is the length of the hypotenuse?

a
$\dfrac{3}{2}$
b
$3$
c
$6$
d
$3\sqrt{2}$
e
$6\sqrt{2}$

If the side that is opposite to a $45^\circ$ angle in an isosceles right triangle has a length of $6\sqrt2,$ what is the length of the hypotenuse?

a
$6$
b
$\dfrac{6\sqrt{2}}{2}$
c
$3\sqrt{2}$
d
$12$
e
$24$

If the hypotenuse of a 45^\circ - 45^\circ - 90^\circ triangle has a length of 5, then what is the length of each leg?

EXPLANATION

The hypotenuse in a 45^\circ - 45^\circ - 90^\circ triangle is equal to \sqrt{2} times the length of a leg.

Here, we know that the hypotenuse has length 5. So, if the length of a leg is a, then we must have

\begin{align} 5 &= \sqrt{2} \cdot a \\[5pt] a &= \dfrac{5}{\sqrt{2}}. \end{align}

To remove the square root from the denominator, we can multiply both the numerator and denominator by \sqrt{2}, as follows:

\begin{align} a &= \dfrac{5 \cdot \sqrt{2}}{\sqrt{2} \cdot \sqrt{2} } \\[5pt] a &= \dfrac{5 \sqrt{2}}{2} \end{align}

Therefore, the length of each leg is \dfrac{5\sqrt{2}}{2}.

FLAG

If the hypotenuse of a $45^\circ$-$45^\circ$-$90^\circ$ triangle has a length of $\dfrac 3 4,$ then what is the length of each leg?

a
$\dfrac {3\sqrt{2}}{8}$
b
$\dfrac {7\sqrt{3}}{2}$
c
$\dfrac {3}{\sqrt{4}}$
d
$8\sqrt{2}$
e
$4\sqrt{2}$

What is the length of one leg of the triangle above?

a
$4$
b
$\sqrt{2}$
c
$4\sqrt2$
d
$8\sqrt3$
e
$2\sqrt2$

The perimeter of the triangle below is 26+13\sqrt{2}. Find the measure of the hypotenuse.

EXPLANATION

Because the triangle is isosceles, the legs must have the same length. Let a be the length of each leg. So, we have

AB=BC=a.

Moreover, because the triangle is a right isosceles triangle, the hypotenuse must be equal to \sqrt{2} times the length of a leg. Therefore, AC = AB\cdot\sqrt{2} = a\sqrt{2}.

Finally, since the perimeter is p = 26+13\sqrt{2}, we have

\begin{align*} \require{cancel} p &= AB + BC + AC \\[2pt] 26+13\sqrt{2} &= a + a + a\sqrt{2} \\[2pt] 26+13\sqrt{2} &= 2a + a\sqrt{2} \\[2pt] 13(2 + \sqrt{2}) &= a(2 + \sqrt{2}) \\[2pt] 13\cancel{(2 + \sqrt{2})} &= a \cancel{(2 + \sqrt{2})} \\[2pt] 13 &= a. \end{align*}

Therefore, the length of each leg is a=13, and the length of the hypotenuse is

AC = a \sqrt{2} = 13 \sqrt{2} .

FLAG

The perimeter of the triangle above is $14 + 7\sqrt{2}.$ Find the measure of the hypotenuse.

a
$7$
b
$14 \sqrt{2}$
c
$2 \sqrt{7}$
d
$7 \sqrt{2}$
e
$\sqrt{7}$

The perimeter of the above triangle is $12 + 6\sqrt{2}.$ Find the measure of each leg.

a
$12$
b
$6\sqrt 2$
c
$6$
d
$3$
e
$3\sqrt 2$

Now that we know about 45^\circ - 45^\circ - 90^\circ triangles, it's straightforward to see that the diagonal of any square is \sqrt{2} times the side length of the square.

To illustrate, consider the square below, where a is the measure of a side and c is the measure of a diagonal.



Since the sides of a square are congruent, \triangle{ABC} is an isosceles right triangle (a 45^{\circ} - 45^{\circ} - 90^{\circ} triangle).

So, for the diagonal, we have \begin{align*} c = \sqrt{2} \cdot a. \end{align*}

FLAG

Find the length of the diagonal \overline{AC} of the square ABCD if the perimeter of the square is p=256\,\mathrm{mm}.

EXPLANATION

Since the perimeter is p=256\,\textrm{mm}, the length of a single side is AB = \dfrac{p}{4} = \dfrac{256}{4} = 64\,\mathrm{mm}.

Now, consider \triangle{ABC} , which is an isosceles right triangle since \angle{ABC} = 90^\circ and AB=BC.



The hypotenuse in an isosceles right triangle is equal to \sqrt{2} times the length of a leg.

Here, the length of a leg is AB=64, so the length of the hypotenuse is AC = \sqrt{2}\cdot AB = \sqrt{2}\cdot 64 = 64\sqrt{2}\,\textrm{mm}.

Therefore, the diagonal of the square ABCD has a length of AC= 64 \sqrt{2} \, \textrm{mm}.

FLAG

Find the perimeter of a square whose diagonal is $5\sqrt{2}\,\mathrm{mm}.$

a
$20\,\mathrm{mm}$
b
$25\,\mathrm{mm}$
c
$20\sqrt{2}\,\mathrm{mm}$
d
$10 \,\mathrm{mm}$
e
$10\sqrt{2}\,\mathrm{mm}$

Find the length of the diagonal $\overline{AC}$ of the square $ABCD$ if the perimeter of the square is $8\,\textrm{mm}.$

a
$2\sqrt2\,\textrm{mm}$
b
$2\,\textrm{mm}$
c
$4\,\textrm{mm}$
d
$4\sqrt{2}\,\textrm{mm}$
e
$8\,\textrm{mm}$
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