A lot of triangle questions can be solved without using the Pythagorean Theorem.
No need to worry about pesky squares and square roots!
Pythagorean Triples to the rescue!
Some common triples are...
The first 2 triplets (3:4:5 and 5:12:13) are the most common ones that I have seen on math tests.
| 3: | 4 | :5 |
|---|---|---|
| 5: | 12 | :13 |
| 8: | 15 | :17 |
| 7: | 24 | :25 |
| 9: | 40 | :41 |
The first 2 triplets (3:4:5 and 5:12:13) are the most common ones that I have seen on math tests.
If you have a triangle question that involves two sides being 5 and 12 units in length, then you know the third side is 13 units long.
Some questions aren't quite so obvious. You might have a triangle with two sides being 6 and 8 units.
There is no Pythagorean triple with a 6 and 8 in it.
However, 6 and 8 are just double the 3 and 4 in the 3:4:5 ratio. The third side is double 5... 10! If your triangle question involves 26 and 24, the third side is 10.
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