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 angle vertex to the midpoint of the hypotenuse. Also, the center of the circle that circumscribes a right triangle is the midpoint of the hypotenuse and its radius is one half the length of the hypotenuse. The following formulas hold for the medians of a right triangle: The median on the hypotenuse of a right triangle divides the triangle into two isosceles triangles, because the median equals one-half the hypotenuse. The medians "m" and "m" from the legs satisfy In a right triangle, the Euler line contains the median on the hypotenuse—that is, it goes through both the right-angled vertex