Answer – The legs of a triangle are its sides. Some triangles like the right triangle and isosceles triangle have two sides called legs with the third side having a different name.
Explanation:
The legs of a triangle are another way of referring to its sides. In the case of a right triangle though, the legs refer to the shorter sides that converge to form the right angle. The side opposite the right angle, which is the longest side, is called the hypotenuse.
Below is a right triangle, with its legs and hypotenuse marked:
The legs of a right triangle can also be further differentiated as the opposite leg and the adjacent leg. Depending on which angle of the right triangle is being considered, the sides referenced as the opposite and adjacent legs will vary.
When considering the angle θ in the above figure, the side opposite it (BC) is the opposite leg and the side adjacent to it (AB) is the adjacent leg. On the other hand, when the angle being considered is ɸ, the opposite leg is AB while the adjacent leg is BC.
If the triangle being considered is an isosceles triangle, the sides of equal length are its legs while the side opposite the vertex angle is called the base.
