Which of the lengths could NOT be the sides of a right triangle?
5 cm, 12 cm, 13 cm
5 cm, 6 cm, 8 cm
8 cm, 15 cm, 17 cm
3 cm, 4 cm, 5 cm
The one that could NOT be the sides of a right triangle is:
8 cm, 15 cm, 17 cm
Because when we apply the Pythagorean Theorem, we get:
a² + b² = c²
8² + 15² = 64 + 225 = 289
Taking the square root of both sides we get:
√289 = 17
This means that the three sides form a triangle, but it is not a right triangle because the longest side (17 cm) is not the hypotenuse. Therefore, the correct answer is 8 cm, 15 cm, 17 cm.