Let the unknown side be "z" inches
Through pythagoras:
[tex] {12}^{2} + {z}^{2} = {20}^{2} [/tex]
Because the square of the two sides add up to the square of the hypotenuse in a right triangle.
This means that
[tex] {z }^{2} = {20}^{2} - {12}^{2} [/tex]
[tex] {z}^{2} = 400 - 144 = 256[/tex]
[tex]z = \sqrt{256} = 16[/tex]
So the missing side is 16 inches
Hope this helped
