The shortest length of the right angled triangle is 4 cm.
Area of a triangle:
where
b = base
h = height
Therefore,
area = 18 cm²
18 = [tex]\frac{1}{2}[/tex] × (x - 1)(x + 4)
36 = (x - 1)(x + 4)
x² + 4x - x - 4 = 36
x² + 3x - 4 = 36
x² + 3x - 4 - 36 = 0
x² + 3x - 40 = 0
x² - 5x + 8x - 40 = 0
x(x - 5) + 8(x - 5) = 0
(x + 8)(x - 5) = 0
x = -8 or 5
we can only use positive numbers.
Therefore,
x = 5
The shortest sides is definitely one of the 2 legs . The hypotenuse of a triangle is the longest side.
Therefore,
h = x - 1 = 5 - 1 = 4 cm
b = x + 4 = 5 + 4 = 9 cm
learn more on right angled triangle here: https://brainly.com/question/2292567?referrer=searchResults