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
Euler's four-square identity Euler's four-square identity In mathematics, Euler's four-square identity says that the product of two numbers, each of which is a sum of four squares, is itself a sum of four squares. For any pair of quadruples from a commutative ring, the following expressions are equal: Euler wrote about this identity in a letter dated May 4, 1748 to Goldbach (but he used a different sign convention from the above). It can be proven with elementary algebra. The identity was used by Lagrange to prove his four square theorem. More specifically, it implies that it is sufficient to prove the theorem