Hypotenuse
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The hypotenuse of a right triangle is the triangle's longest side; the side opposite the right angle.
The length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle can be found using the Pythagorean theorem, which states that the square of the length of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares of the lengths of the two other sides. For example, if one of the other sides has a length of three meters (when squared, 9m2) and the other has a length of four meters (when squared, 16m2), their squares add up to 25m2. The square root of this number is 5m, so the length of the hypotenuse is five meters.
[edit] References
- Eric W. Weisstein, Hypotenuse at MathWorld.
