Find 2nd leg of right triangle with known leg and perimeter

Question

This is probably a very basic question for this site, but it got me stumped.

For a right triangle with one leg (A) and perimeter (L) given, how do I calculate the hypotenuse (C) and second leg (B)? I know that $A^2+B^2=C^2$ and that $A+B+C=L$, but I couldn't find a way to find B and C given A and L.

Answer 1

Note that $A^2=C^2-B^2=(C-B)(C+B)$ and $L-A=B+C$. Therefore

$$\begin{cases}C-B=\frac{A^2}{L-A} \; ,\\ \\ C+B=L-A \; ,\end{cases}$$

is a simple system of linear equations in the two variables $C$ and $B$.