Pythagorean Theorem by Walter McIntyre

Pythagoras may have come up with the Pythagorean theorem, or maybe one of his students. It is impossible to know for sure, so I’ll give him credit. We understand the theorem as the sum of the squares of the sides adjacent to the right angle in a right triangle, equal the square of the side opposite the right angle (hypotenuse). a2 + b2 = c2. See below.

If you are reading this blog post, you probably already know this. But…can you see the other relationship.  The area of the squares associated with the sides adjacent to the right angle, when added together, equal the area of the square associated with the side opposite the right angle.

This is another piece of number magic. The approach of considering the areas of the squares in the Pythagorean Theorem is used in boat hull and airplane design.