Find the amount of fencing needed

Linda built a fence around her garden. Her garden is shaped like a right triangle with the smaller side lengths equal to 54 inches and 72 inches.

The amount of fencing needed for her garden response is in inches.

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A right triangle with smaller side lengths of 54 and 72 means those are the legs of the triangle, and you need
to determine the hypotenuse of the triangle in order to find the perimeter of the triangle.

Use the Pythagorean Theorem
a² + b² = c²
a and b are the legs 
c is the hypotenuse

54² + 72² = c²   {substituted legs, 54 and 72, into Pythagorean Theorem}
2916 + 5184 = c²  {evaluated exponents}
8100 = c² {added on left side}
c = 90  {took square root of each side}

90 is the hypotenuse of the triangle

Find the perimeter of the triangle
= 54 + 72 + 90  {added the three sides of the triangle}
= 216 inches {added}

She will need 216 inches of fencing.

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