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
Proofs of Fermat's theorem on sums of two squares appears in article 182 of the Disquisitiones Arithmeticae. An (integral binary) quadratic form is an expression of the form formula_105 with formula_106 integers. A number formula_107 is said to be "represented by the form" if there exist integers formula_108 such that formula_109. Fermat's theorem on sums of two squares is then equivalent to the statement that a prime formula_82 is represented by the form formula_111 (i.e., formula_112, formula_113) exactly when formula_82 is congruent to formula_91 modulo formula_116. The discriminant of the quadratic form is defined to be formula_117. The discriminant of formula_111 is then equal to formula_119. Two forms formula_120