![Picture](/uploads/3/7/9/4/37947167/1869141_orig.gif)
Pythagoras' Theorem
Over 2000 years ago there was an amazing discovery about triangles:
When the triangle has a right angle (90°) ...
... and squares are made on each of the
three sides, then ...
... the biggest square has the exact same area as the other two squares put together!
It is called "Pythagoras' Theorem" and can be written in one short equation:
- a2 + b2 = c2
- c is the longest side of the triangle
- a and b are the other two sides
Definition - The longest side of the triangle is called the "hypotenuse", so the formal definition is
- In a right angled triangle:
the square of the hypotenuse is equal to
the sum of the squares of the other two sides.