Pythagorean theorem three sides in place of squares (squares are a special case, of course). The upper figure shows that for a scalene triangle, the area of the parallelogram on the longest side is the sum of the areas of the parallelograms on the other two sides, provided the parallelogram on the long side is constructed as indicated (the dimensions labeled with arrows are the same, and determine the sides of the bottom parallelogram). This replacement of squares with parallelograms bears a clear resemblance to the original Pythagoras's theorem, and was considered a generalization by Pappus of Alexandria in 4 AD The
Pappus's area theorem Pappus's area theorem Pappus's area theorem describes the relationship between the areas of three parallelograms attached to three sides of an arbitrary triangle. The theorem, which can also be thought of as a generalization of the Pythagorean theorem, is named after the Greek mathematician Pappus of Alexandria (4th century AD), who discovered it. Given an arbitrary triangle with two arbitrary parallelograms attached to two of its sides the theorem tells how to construct a parallelogram over the third side, such that the area of the third parallelogram equals the sum of the areas of the other two parallelograms. Let "ABC"