Right triangles

The Pythagorean theorem

A central theorem is the Pythagorean theorem, which states in any right triangle, the square of the
length of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares of the lengths of the two other sides. If the
hypotenuse has length c, and the legs have lengths a and b, then the theorem states that

The converse is true: if the lengths of the sides of a triangle satisfy the above equation, then the
triangle has a right angle opposite side c.

Some other facts about right triangles:

The acute angles of a right triangle are complementary.

If the legs of a right triangle have the same length, then the angles opposite those legs
have the same measure. Since these angles are complementary, it follows that each
measures 45 degrees. By the Pythagorean theorem, the length of the hypotenuse is the
length of a leg times 2.

In a right triangle with acute angles measuring 30 and 60 degrees, the hypotenuse is
twice the length of the shorter side, and the longer side is equal to the length of the
shorter side times 3: