If the lengths of the legs of a right triangle are 4 inches and 9 inches, find the length of the hypotenuse.

Solution:    We will use the pythagorean theorem with a = 4 inches and b = 9 inches and will solve for c.

                       a² + b²   = c²      Pythagorean theorem.
                       4² + 9²   = c²         Substitution for a and c.
                            16 + 81   = c²        
                                97   = c²
                                      = c         Extract the positive square root.

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