How do I use Pythagorus' Theorum?

Pythagorus' Theorum is used to calculate the lengths of the sides of a right angled triange, and is written mathematically as follows:

a2 + b2 = c2

The letters (a, b and c) each stand for one of the three sides. Where c represents the hypotenuse, which is the side opposite to the right angle, and is usually the longest side of the triangle. 

The theorum therefore means that the square of the hypotenuse (c) is always equal to the sum of the square of the other two sides (a and b).

This can be used to find the length of any side of a right angled triangle as long as the other two sides are already known.

 

NP
Answered by Narissa P. Maths tutor

6855 Views

See similar Maths GCSE tutors

Related Maths GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Factorise y^2 + 27y and simplify w^9/w^4


A right-angled triangle has side lengths of 8.65cm and 10.15cm. What is the length of its hypotenuse?


How to solve the simultaneous equations of 3x + 2y = 9 and x-y = 3


There are n sweets in a bag. 6 of the sweets are orange. The rest of the sweets are yellow. Hannah takes a random sweet from the bag. She eats the sweet. Hannah then takes at random another sweet from the bag. She eats the sweet. The probability that H


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning