Special right triangle are in the ratio 1 : 2 : 3 and respectively measure 30° (), 60° (), and 90° (). The sides are in the ratio 1 : : 2. The proof of this fact is clear using trigonometry. The geometric proof is: The 30°–60°–90° triangle is the only right triangle whose angles are in an arithmetic progression. The proof of this fact is simple and follows on from the fact that if "α", , are the angles in the progression then the sum of the angles = 180°. After dividing by 3, the angle must be 60°. The right angle
Axiom of plane geometry. The axioms are referred to as "4 + 1" because for nearly two millennia the fifth (parallel) postulate ("through a point outside a line there is exactly one parallel") was suspected of being derivable from the first four. Ultimately, the fifth postulate was found to be independent of the first four. Indeed, one can assume that exactly one parallel through a point outside a line exists, or that infinitely many exist. This choice gives us two alternative forms of geometry in which the interior angles of a triangle add up to exactly 180 degrees or less, respectively,