Pythagorean theorem four elementary lemmata: Next, each top square is related to a triangle congruent with another triangle related in turn to one of two rectangles making up the lower square. The proof is as follows: This proof, which appears in Euclid's "Elements" as that of Proposition 47 in Book 1, demonstrates that the area of the square on the hypotenuse is the sum of the areas of the other two squares. This is quite distinct from the proof by similarity of triangles, which is conjectured to be the proof that Pythagoras used. We have already discussed the Pythagorean proof, which was
Isosceles triangle a special isosceles triangle with the property that the other two inscribed squares, with sides collinear with the sides of the triangle, are of the same size as the base square. A much older theorem, preserved in the works of Hero of Alexandria, states that, for an isosceles triangle with base formula_3 and height formula_1, the side length of the inscribed square on the base of the triangle is For any integer formula_35, any triangle can be partitioned into formula_36 isosceles triangles. In a right triangle, the median from the hypotenuse (that is, the line segment from the midpoint of