Question Analysis
This question is centered around applying the properties of isosceles right - triangles (45 - 45 - 90 triangles) to find the length of the legs when the hypotenuse length is provided. The key lies in leveraging the established relationship between the legs and the hypotenuse.
Key Concept Explanation
In a 45 - 45 - 90 triangle, the two legs are of equal length. Let the length of each leg be and the length of the hypotenuse be . By the Pythagorean theorem (, with in this case), we have . The relationship between the leg and the hypotenuse can be written as , which can be rearranged to .
Step - by - Step Solution
1. Substitute the hypotenuse value into the formula:
Given that cm. Using the formula , we substitute