Two sides of a right triangle are 8" and 12".

A. Find the the area of the triangle if 8 and 12 are legs.

B. Find the area of the triangle if 8 and 12 are a leg and hypotenuse.

Area of a right triangle = ab/2

where a and b are both legs of the triangle.

A) a = 8 inches; b = 12 inches

A = (8in x 12in) / 2 = 96/2 = 48 in²

B.) a = 8 inches; b = ?; hypotenuse = 12 inches

Pythagorean theorem is used to get the measurement of the hypotenuse. It can also be used to get the measurement of the missing leg.

a² + b² = c² ⇒ b² = c² - a²

b² = 12² - 8²

b² = 144 - 64

b² = 80

b = √80

b = 8.94

A = ab/2 ⇒ (8 inches * 8.94 inches) / 2

A = 71.52 in² / 2

A = 35.76 in²