SOLUTION: What is the Pythagorean theorem ? How is it used?

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Question 413338: What is the Pythagorean theorem ? How is it used?
Answer by algebrahouse.com(1659) About Me  (Show Source):
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"What is the Pythagorean theorem ? How is it used?"

It is used to find missing sides in a right triangle.

It is a^2 + b^2 = c^2
where a and b are the legs
and c is the hypotenuse (the side across from the right angle}

It means "the sum of the squares of the legs (a^2 + b^2),
is equal to the square of the hypotenuse (c^2)"

When you substitute in the sides, it doesn't matter which side is a or b,
but the hypotenuse must be c.
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