document.write( "Question 168160: What is the Pythagorean theorem? How is it used? \n" ); document.write( "
Algebra.Com's Answer #123938 by gonzo(654)![]() ![]() ![]() You can put this solution on YOUR website! you take a right triangle. \n" ); document.write( "that's a triangle with one angle = 90 degrees \n" ); document.write( "call that triangle ABC where the right angle = angle C. \n" ); document.write( "the other 2 angles of the triangle are angle A and angle B. \n" ); document.write( "----- \n" ); document.write( "side a is opposite angle A. \n" ); document.write( "side b is opposite angle B. \n" ); document.write( "side c is opposite angle C. \n" ); document.write( "----- \n" ); document.write( "angle C is a right angle. \n" ); document.write( "side c which is opposite angle C is called the hypotenuse of the right triangle. \n" ); document.write( "----- \n" ); document.write( "side a and side b are called legs of the right triangle. \n" ); document.write( "----- \n" ); document.write( "the pythagorean theorem states that the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the square of each of the legs. \n" ); document.write( "----- \n" ); document.write( "this means that c^2 = a^2 + b^2 \n" ); document.write( "----- \n" ); document.write( "given two of the dimensions of any right triangle, this theorem is used to find the third side. \n" ); document.write( "----- \n" ); document.write( "the theorem is also fundamental to proving the basic identities in trigonometry. \n" ); document.write( "----- \n" ); document.write( "there's tons of stuff on the web regarding pythagorean theorem. \n" ); document.write( "just do a search on \"pythagorean theorem\" and see what comes up. \n" ); document.write( "i couldn't find any one simple explanation. \n" ); document.write( "what i just gave you is as simple as it gets.\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " |