Can somebody please explain to me how to use the pythagorean triple?

Question

For instance how would I apply the triple to 24, 51, and x?

Answer 1

The squares of two of the numbers must add to the square of the third.
Lets try x^2 = 24^2 + 51^2, then x^2 = 3177. Thats not a square.
Lets try 51^2 = 24^2 + x^2. Then x^2 = 2025, so x = 45.
So (24,45,51) is a pythagorean triple.

Answer 2

A squared plus B squared equal C squared.

24 times 24 equals 576

51 times 51 equals 2601

576 plus 2601 equals 3177

X time X (X squared) equals 3177

X equals the square root of 3177

X equals 56 + some fraction (My calculator does not have a square root function)

If your's does simply find the square root of 3177 and it will equal X for your situation.