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An equilateral triangle is a triangle in which all three sides have the same length, and all three angles are equal. Because of these properties, the equilateral triangle is a regular polygon, occasionally known as the regular triangle. It is the special case of an isosceles triangle by modern definition, creating more special properties.
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.
Fig. 1 – A triangle. The angles α (or A), β (or B), and γ (or C) are respectively opposite the sides a, b, and c.. In trigonometry, the law of cosines (also known as the cosine formula or cosine rule) relates the lengths of the sides of a triangle to the cosine of one of its angles.
A triangle whose side lengths are a Pythagorean triple is a right triangle and called a Pythagorean triangle. A primitive Pythagorean triple is one in which a, b and c are coprime (that is, they have no common divisor larger than 1). [1] For example, (3, 4, 5) is a primitive Pythagorean triple whereas (6, 8, 10) is not.
The triangle angle sum theorem states that the sum of the three angles of any triangle, in this case angles α, β, and γ, will always equal 180 degrees. The Pythagorean theorem states that the sum of the areas of the two squares on the legs ( a and b ) of a right triangle equals the area of the square on the hypotenuse ( c ).
The Pythagorean theorem was known and used by the Babylonians and Indians centuries before Pythagoras, [216] [214] [217] [218] but he may have been the first to introduce it to the Greeks. [ 219 ] [ 217 ] Some historians of mathematics have even suggested that he—or his students—may have constructed the first proof . [ 220 ]
Triangles based on Pythagorean triples are Heronian, meaning they have integer area as well as integer sides. The possible use of the 3 : 4 : 5 triangle in Ancient Egypt, with the supposed use of a knotted rope to lay out such a triangle, and the question whether Pythagoras' theorem was known at that time, have been much debated. [3]
Similar right triangles illustrating the tangent and secant trigonometric functions Trigonometric functions and their reciprocals on the unit circle. The Pythagorean theorem applied to the blue triangle shows the identity 1 + cot 2 θ = csc 2 θ, and applied to the red triangle shows that 1 + tan 2 θ = sec 2 θ.