Aright triangle has one leg that is 17 centimeters shorter then the other. if the hypotenuse is 25 what is the length of the two legs

Let x represent the shorter leg. Then the Pythagorean theorem tells us
  x^2 +(x +17)^2 = 25^2
  2x^2 +34x +289 = 625
  x^2 +17x -168 = 0
  (x -7)(x +24) = 0 . . . . . the zero product rule tells you x=7 is the solution

The shorter leg is 7 cm; the longer one is 24 cm.