If the hypotenuse of a right triangle is 70 feet and one of the legs is 42 feet, what is the length of the other leg?

a^2 + b^2 = c^2

1) This can be seen as;

(side #1) ^2 + (side #2) ^2 = (hypotenuse) ^2

2) Now put the numbers;

(42) ^2 + (side#2) ^2 = (70) ^2

3) Now square the numbers

1764 + (side#2) ^2 = 4900

4) Now we have to isolate the side we are trying to find, by subtracting 1764 from both sides

(side#2) ^2 = 4900-1764

5)

(side#2) ^2 = 3136

6) Now we need to get rid of the square of side #2 (^2), to do this we have to do the opposite of a square, which is square rooting both sides.

√ (side#2) ^2 = √3136

7) Now the square and squareroot of of side#2 will cancel and the square root of 3136 is 56 if you plug it into your calculator

(side#2) = 56

Final Answer)

The length of the other leg is 56ft.