Pythagorean theorem straightedge and compass. Pythagoras's theorem enables construction of incommensurable lengths because the hypotenuse of a triangle is related to the sides by the square root operation. The figure on the right shows how to construct line segments whose lengths are in the ratio of the square root of any positive integer. Each triangle has a side (labeled "1") that is the chosen unit for measurement. In each right triangle, Pythagoras's theorem establishes the length of the hypotenuse in terms of this unit. If a hypotenuse is related to the unit by the square root of a positive integer that is
Right triangle two legs (the two sides that meet at a right angle). This can be stated in equation form as where "c" is the length of the hypotenuse, and "a" and "b" are the lengths of the remaining two sides. Pythagorean triples are integer values of "a, b, c" satisfying this equation. The radius of the incircle of a right triangle with legs "a" and "b" and hypotenuse "c" is The radius of the circumcircle is half the length of the hypotenuse, Thus the sum of the circumradius and the inradius is half the sum of the legs: One of the