Find the value of x that makes the triangle a right triangle.

A right triangle with a hypotenuse of 20 units , height of x units and base is of 12 units.

A.
8
B.
16
C.
18
D.
23

A. 8

Did you know?

In a right triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sides. In this case, the hypotenuse is 20 units, and the height is x units. By applying the Pythagorean theorem, we can find the value of x that makes the triangle a right triangle. The Pythagorean theorem states that (height^2) + (base^2) = (hypotenuse^2). With a base of 12 units, we can plug these values into the equation: (x^2) + (12^2) = (20^2). Solving this equation, we find that x^2 + 144 = 400. Rearranging the equation, we get x^2 = 256. Taking the square root of both sides, we find that x is equal to either 16 or -16 (since both positive and negative values are valid for the height of a triangle). Therefore, the possible values of x are 16 and -16.