Is there any way on how to do Pythagorean theorem easier im having trouble understanding

You can remember easy "Pythagorean Triples" like the famous 3-4-5 combo, with 5 being the hypotenuse. There are also some other not-as-famous triples like the 5-12-13 triple, the 7-24-25 triple, and the 9-40-41. Note that the hypotenuse of these "triples" is always the largest number.

i wonder how we figured out the pythagoream theorem

It was proven by Pythagoras. There are several popular proofs (even one done by a former US president [Garfield]). Look up proof of Pythagoras Theorem on YouTube.

Just a quick question, so in a test it could say find the distance of the other 2 sides of the triangle. Can you find out the other 2 sides using the pythagorean theorem or is there another way to find that out?

There is no way to do it if you are only given 1 side :(

how can i find the b (the one one the side thats straight)

you would instead do c^2-a^2=b^2. if you are missing "a" you can also swap those and do c^2 - b^2 = a^2

So, for the Pythagorean Theorem you do a squared plus b squared equals c squared. Why is a+c=b a thing? I don't get it.

a+c cannot equal b. This is because c is the hypotenuse. Instead, you could do c²-a²=b².

Main content

8th grade

Course: 8th grade > Unit 5

Lesson 3: Pythagorean theorem

Pythagorean theorem intro problems

Google Classroom

Practice using the Pythagorean theorem to solve for missing side lengths on right triangles. Each question is slightly more challenging than the previous.

Pythagorean theorem

The equation for the Pythagorean theorem is

a, squared, plus, b, squared, equals, c, squared

where a and b are the lengths of the two legs of the triangle, and c is the length of the hypotenuse.

[How can I tell which side is the hypotenuse?]

Want to learn more about the Pythagorean theorem? Check out this video.

Practice problems

Problem 1

Current

Find the value of x in the triangle shown below.

Want more Pythagorean theorem practice? Check out this exercise.

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Xadrien Gallardo
Posted 4 years ago. Direct link to Xadrien Gallardo's post “Is there any way on how t...”
Is there any way on how to do Pythagorean theorem easier im having trouble understanding
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- Yutang Xie
  Posted 2 years ago. Direct link to Yutang Xie's post “You can remember easy "Py...”
  You can remember easy "Pythagorean Triples" like the famous 3-4-5 combo, with 5 being the hypotenuse. There are also some other not-as-famous triples like the 5-12-13 triple, the 7-24-25 triple, and the 9-40-41. Note that the hypotenuse of these "triples" is always the largest number.
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steveknowsbest
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there is so much history in the comments
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  this was disrespectful
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ehenderson27
Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to ehenderson27's post “i wonder how we figured o...”
i wonder how we figured out the pythagoream theorem
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- amyers7
  Posted 9 months ago. Direct link to amyers7's post “It was proven by Pythagor...”
  It was proven by Pythagoras. There are several popular proofs (even one done by a former US president [Garfield]). Look up proof of Pythagoras Theorem on YouTube.
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  (7 votes)
bobbyflay4eve
Posted 4 years ago. Direct link to bobbyflay4eve's post “Just a quick question, so...”
Just a quick question, so in a test it could say find the distance of the other 2 sides of the triangle. Can you find out the other 2 sides using the pythagorean theorem or is there another way to find that out?
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(13 votes)
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- Aidan C.
  Posted 4 years ago. Direct link to Aidan C.'s post “There is no way to do it ...”
  There is no way to do it if you are only given 1 side :(
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  (8 votes)
Taylorann
Posted 4 years ago. Direct link to Taylorann's post “So, for the Pythagorean T...”
So, for the Pythagorean Theorem you do a squared plus b squared equals c squared. Why is a+c=b a thing? I don't get it.
Button navigates to signup pageComment on Taylorann's post “So, for the Pythagorean T...”
(0 votes)
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- Blaine Durbin
  Posted 4 years ago. Direct link to Blaine Durbin's post “a+c cannot equal b. This ...”
  a+c cannot equal b. This is because c is the hypotenuse. Instead, you could do c²-a²=b².
  Comment on Blaine Durbin's post “a+c cannot equal b. This ...”
  (39 votes)
Layla Balmer
Posted 5 months ago. Direct link to Layla Balmer's post “when am I going to use th...”
when am I going to use this in life?
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- Elisa F
  Posted 5 months ago. Direct link to Elisa F's post “You won’t”
  You won’t
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Jennifer Hernandez
Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to Jennifer Hernandez's post “how can i find the b (the...”
how can i find the b (the one one the side thats straight)
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- AJ Brown
  Posted a year ago. Direct link to AJ Brown's post “you would instead do c^2-...”
  you would instead do c^2-a^2=b^2. if you are missing "a" you can also swap those and do c^2 - b^2 = a^2
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alexis.bollinger
Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to alexis.bollinger's post “I don't exactly understan...”
I don't exactly understand how to do this, is there an easier way to do this?
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Entroplank
Posted 8 months ago. Direct link to Entroplank's post “Why do people always ask ...”
Why do people always ask obvious questions and then get a ton of votes?!
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- mm282003
  Posted 8 months ago. Direct link to mm282003's post “because it is easier to f...”
  because it is easier to full around
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970037285
Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to 970037285's post “is there a better way to ...”
is there a better way to learn this?
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