Alonzo's suitcase can weigh no more than 20 kilograms if he wants to take it on the airplane without paying a fee. his suitcase weighs 220 hectograms. how much weight will alanzo have to take out of his suitcase to meet the weight limit?

we have three similar triangles, because each has a right angle and shares an angle.   let's write the angles in order: opposite to short leg, long leg, hypotenuse.

cab similar to bad similar to cbd

or as ratios,

ca: ab: cb = ba: ad: bd = cb: bd: cd

we also know

ac = ad + cd

(ad+cd): ab: cb = ba: ad: bd = cb: bd: cd

(ad+cd)/cb=cb/cd

we have cb=6, ad=5 and seek x=cd.

we reject the negative root and conclude x=4

answer: 4

step-by-step explanation:

assume that you have 3 different side lengths.   apply the pythagorean theorem here:   square each of the two shortest sides; call them a and b, so that their squares are a² and b².   also square the longest side, calling the result c².

now, if a² + b² = c² is true, the triangle is a right triangle; otherwise it is not a right triangle.