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
Incircle and excircles of a triangle has area formula_39. Similarly, formula_40 has area formula_41 and formula_42 has area formula_43. Since these three triangles decompose formula_35, we see that the area formula_45 is: where formula_48 is the area of formula_35 and formula_50 is its semiperimeter. For an alternative formula, consider formula_51. This is a right-angled triangle with one side equal to "r" and the other side equal to formula_52. The same is true for formula_53. The large triangle is composed of 6 such triangles and the total area is: The Gergonne triangle (of "ABC") is defined by the 3 touchpoints of the incircle on the 3 sides.