Pythagoras Theorem

Pythagoras Theorem

You use the Pythagorean Theorem when you know the lengths of two sides of a right triangle and you want to figure out the length of the third side.

The Pythagorean Theorem: The sum of the squares of the legs of a right triangle is equal to the square of the hypotenuse:

Here, a and b are the lengths of the legs and c is the length of the hypotenuse. The legs are the two short sides that touch the right angle, and the hypotenuse (the longest side) is opposite the right angle.