Thomas T.

asked • 10/08/15

5 ,12 and ? are the lengths of the side of a Pythagorean triple

I need help with word problems 

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Andrew M. answered • 10/08/15

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I assume you mean a Pythagorean triangle....
by which you mean you have a right triangle with side lengths 5, and 12
 
If these are the two sides and the unknown is the hypotenuse (side across
from the right angle) then we use the Pythagorean theorem:
a2 + b2 = c2   where c is the length of the hypotenuse
 
52 + 122 = c2
25 + 144 = c2
169 = c2
√169 = c
13 = c
 
The length of the hypotenuse is 13
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David W.

"A Pythagorean triple consists of three positive integers a, b, and c, such that a2 + b2 = c2" -- Wikipedia
 
Note: years ago, in Engineering Drawing class, we used a T-square (also see Wikipedia) to plot curves.  It was very handy to have plastic triangles of (1,√3,2) and (1,1,√2), etc. because the associated angles were frequently used (notice triangle in T-square Wikipedia article).  Of course, before plotting the points, we calculated the values using slide rules (no, not necessary to look up).
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10/08/15

Andrew M.

Thank you David.  That is obviously a new one to me.  Should have googled rather than assumed.
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10/08/15

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