Respuesta :
9514 1404 393
Answer:
 CX = 15√2 inches
 BC = 15√3 inches
 AC = 15√6 inches
Step-by-step explanation:
In this geometry, all of the triangles are similar:
 ΔABC ~ ΔACX ~ ΔCBX
Corresponding segments are proportional in similar triangles, so we have ...
 AX/CX = CX/BX = (long leg)/(short leg)
Filling in the numbers, we get
 30/CX = CX/15
 CX² = 15×30
 CX = 15√2 . . . . . exact length of the altitude (inches)
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Similarly, we can form proportions with the legs:
 AB/BC = CB/BX
 BC² = (BX)(AB) = (45)(15)
 BC = 15√3 . . . inches
and
 AC/AB = AX/AC
 AC² = (AX)(AB) = (30)(45)
 AC = 15√6 . . . inches
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Additional comment
You may notice that each of the segments we're interested in is the root of a product involving segments of the hypotenuse. This "root of a product" is called the geometric mean. Here, the three geometric mean relations are ...
 altitude = geometric mean of hypotenuse segments
 short side = geometric mean of short segment and whole hypotenuse
 long side = geometric mean of long segment and whole hypotenuse
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Strictly speaking the geometric mean is the n-th root of the product of n items. Here, there are only 2 items, so it is the square root of their product.
