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A right triangle ABC with its right angle at C, hypotenuse c, and legs a and b,. A right triangle or right-angled triangle, sometimes called an orthogonal triangle or rectangular triangle, is a triangle in which two sides are perpendicular, forming a right angle (1 ⁄ 4 turn or 90 degrees).
As a consequence of the Pythagorean theorem, the hypotenuse is the longest side of any right triangle; that is, the hypotenuse is longer than either of the triangle's legs. For example, given the length of the legs a = 5 and b = 12, then the sum of the legs squared is (5 × 5) + (12 × 12) = 169, the square of the hypotenuse.
In a right triangle, a cathetus (originally from the Greek word Κάθετος; plural: catheti), commonly known as a leg, is either of the sides that are adjacent to the right angle. It is occasionally called a "side about the right angle". The side opposite the right angle is the hypotenuse. In the context of the hypotenuse, the catheti are ...
In mathematics, the Pythagorean theorem or Pythagoras' theorem is a fundamental relation in Euclidean geometry between the three sides of a right triangle.It states that the area of the square whose side is the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares on the other two sides.
In a right triangle two of the squares coincide and have a vertex at the triangle's right angle, so a right triangle has only two distinct inscribed squares. An obtuse triangle has only one inscribed square, with a side coinciding with part of the triangle's longest side.
The area of a triangle can be demonstrated, for example by means of the congruence of triangles, as half of the area of a parallelogram that has the same base length and height. A graphic derivation of the formula T = h 2 b {\displaystyle T={\frac {h}{2}}b} that avoids the usual procedure of doubling the area of the triangle and then halving it.
For example, a right triangle may have angles that form simple relationships, such as 45°–45°–90°. This is called an "angle-based" right triangle. A "side-based" right triangle is one in which the lengths of the sides form ratios of whole numbers, such as 3 : 4 : 5, or of other special numbers such as the golden ratio.
In geometry, an isosceles triangle (/ aɪ ˈ s ɒ s ə l iː z /) is a triangle that has two sides of equal length. Sometimes it is specified as having exactly two sides of equal length, and sometimes as having at least two sides of equal length, the latter version thus including the equilateral triangle as a special case.