How to find the missing side of a right triangle?

right triangle: a*a + b*b = c*c (* = multiply) C is the hypotenuse, a is one of the shorter sides, b is the the other. You said a = b, so 2 * (a * a) = c * c. c = 8, so 2 * (a * a) = 8 * 8 = 64. a* a = 64/2 = 32. so a = the square rooy of 32, which is 5.65685........