Question 413338
"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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