can someone explain to me what Pythagorean theorem is but make it simple PLEASE!!?

Question

ok so say you're explaining it to a complete beginner ... even though he/she knows square roots and exponents, so say... grade 7/8? Please help!!

Answer 1

The Pythagorean Theorem is a² + b² = c².

What does that mean exactly?

First, it only works with "right triangles" which are triangles where one corner is exactly 90 degrees. The two sides making that 90 degree corner will be called 'a' and 'b'.

The third side (the hypotenuse) is called 'c'.

Doing a little algebra, you can always find the length of the missing side if you know the lengths of any two sides.

The length of the third side 'c' will be equal to √(a² + b²)
The length of 'a' will be √(c² - b²)
The length of 'b' will be √(c² - a²)

This Theorem applies for *every* "right triangle". In the link below there is a proof for this.

Answer 2

I am sure you have read the theorem itself but I will simplify it. It basically means that if you drew squares on each side of the triangle then the area of the biggest square which is on the longest side of the triangle will be equal to the area of squares on the other two sides of the triangle when you add them up. So that's how they come up with the formula
a^2 +b^2 = c^2; where c is the longest side of the triangle.

With this information you can calculate the any side of the triangle using pythagoras theorem. You can try using an example. Triangle ABC Let's say the two sides of a triangle (not the longest side) are 3 and 4 then if you drew squares (all sides are equal) on all the sides of the triangle and calculate the area for the two known sides (Note area of square = length*width). So one quare will give an area of 9 and the other will give an area of 16. If you add those together you get 25 which will be the area of the larger square on the longest side of the triangle. So to find the length of one side you find the square root of 25, which is 5 so the length of that side is 5. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

First off, the Pythagorean theorem is a squared + b squared = c squared.
(go here for diagram: http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/1766/pythag1co5.jpg)
Basically, it works with right triangles (triangles with one 90 degree angle). If you know two sides of a right triangle, you can find the third using this theorem...
a and b are the lengths of each of the legs of the triangle (Usually a is the base and b is the height, but this will vary depending on how the triangle is situated and what you choose.). c is the hypotenuse of the triangle.

Take for example a right triangle with base 3, and height 4. If you want to find the hypotenuse, plug the lengths of the legs into the formula and solve for the hypotenuse, c. Take 3 to be a, and 4 to be b.
a squared + b squared = c squared
3 squared + 4 squared = c squared
9 + 16 = c squared
25 = c squared
5 = c (Took the square root of both sides.)

Likewise, if you find that there is a missing leg length, you can find that...
Example: A right triangle has height 8, hypotenuse 10 and a base of unknown length...
Plug what you know into the formula and solve for the missing lengths.
a squared + b squared = c squared
base squared + 8 squared = 10 squared
base squared = 10 squared - 8 squared
base squared = 100-64
base squared = 36
base = 6
(go here for diagrams:http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/7680/pythag2av3.jpg)

Hope that helps you understand!

Answer 4

The hypotenuse of a right angle triangle is opposite the right angle and is the longest side.This being so, Pythagoras stated that the hypotenuse² = the sum of the squares on the other two sides. Well known right angled triangles are those with sides:-
3,4 5
5² = 3² + 4²

5,12,13
13² = 12² + 5²

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

OK, now let's imagine there is a right triangle.
The right triangle has 3 sides.
2 of them are perpendicular to each other. Let's name the vertical one a, the horizontal one is b. The other side, that is diagonal (this is called hypotenuse), call it c.

The Phytagorean Theorem write the relation of the magnitude of a, b, and c. The relation is stated below :

a^2 + b^2 = c^2

The ^2 means squared. This theorem is used to answer one of the sides of right triangle, if 2 of them knowed.
Let's say a is 3, and b is 4. You can determine c with this theorem. (Find by Yourself!)

Answer 6

The original form of the pythagoras theorem is that if we construct squares on the sides of a right angled triangle then the sum of the are of the squares on the base. and the perpendicular is equal to the area of the square on the hypotenuse. The squares considered have sides equal to the side of the triangle on which they are constructed

Answer 7

Asquared + Bsquared = Csquared, in a right triangle.


So, if you know two sides of a right triangle you can postulate the third.
Say A is 2 and B is 3, 2squared is 4 + 3squared is 9 = 13...
Csquared = 13 .... so, the square root of 13 = C

Answer 8

In a accurate triangle (meaning there's a ninety degree attitude) the sum of the scale of each and every leg sqaured equals the scale of the hypotenuse squared. The legs are the edges next to the ninety degree attitude and the hypotenuse is the section opposite the ninety degree attitude. desire this clarified each and every thing

Answer 9

You have a right angle triangle, the longest side(The Hypotenuse) is equal to the other two sides of the triangle when added together.