4 ms·
> Knowing a triplet ain't employing Pythagorean theorem. 3^2 + 4^2 = 5^2 = 25 guarantees that the angle between the side length 3 and the side of length 4 is a
by graycat 5y ago
> Knowing a triplet ain't employing Pythagorean theorem.
3^2 + 4^2 = 5^2 = 25 guarantees that the angle between the side length 3 and the side of length 4 is a right angle which is what the carpenter very much wanted to know. E.g., the sides might be 30 feet, 40 feet and 50 feet, e.g., for the foundation of a house, and presto, bingo the carpenter knows that the 30 foot side and the 40 foot side form a right angle, are square, which can be very important to a carpenter and not so easy to know otherwise.
- mlyle 5y agoYup, and knowing that having triangle sides multiples of 3,4,5 guarantees that it's a right triangle is not the same as employing pythagorean theorem. You know one triplet, and not why it works, or that e.g. it works for 5, 12, and 13 and 11,60, 61 as well. A whole lot of people know that measuring a bookcase corner to corner is a good way to square it up, too. But they may not be masters of geometry beyond knowing a rule of thumb.