Given :
The height of the mat is 21 inches shorter than the length of the mat .
The hypotenuse is 6 inches longer than the length of the mat .
Explanation :
Let the length be x , height be y and hypotenuse be z.
The relation between the sides of the triangles
[tex]\begin{gathered} y=x-21 \\ z=x+6 \end{gathered}[/tex]To find the length of mat , use the pythagoras theorem,
[tex]z^2=x^2+y^2[/tex][tex](x+6)^2=x^2+(x-21)^2[/tex][tex]x^2+36+12x=x^2+x^2+441-42x[/tex][tex]36+54x=x^2+441[/tex][tex]x^2-54x+405=0[/tex]Solve the quadratic equation by factoring,
[tex](x-45)(x-9)=0[/tex][tex]x=45,9[/tex]Answer
Hence the length of mat is 45 in.
As x=9 in gives negati