Can you use the Pythagorean Theorem for distance?

The distance formula uses the coordinates of points and the Pythagorean theorem to calculate the distance between points. If A and B form the hypotenuse of a right triangle, then the length of AB can be found using this formula: leg2 + leg2 = hypotenuse2.

How is Pythagorean Theorem related to the distance formula?

Derived from the Pythagorean Theorem, the distance formula is used to find the distance between two points in the plane. The Pythagorean Theorem, a2+b2=c2 a 2 + b 2 = c 2 , is based on a right triangle where a and b are the lengths of the legs adjacent to the right angle, and c is the length of the hypotenuse.

How is the Pythagorean Theorem defined?

Pythagorean theorem, the well-known geometric theorem that the sum of the squares on the legs of a right triangle is equal to the square on the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle)—or, in familiar algebraic notation, a2 + b2 = c2.

What type of math is Pythagorean Theorem?

Pythagorean theorem is super important for math. You will probably learn about it for the first time in Algebra, but you will literally use it in Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Precalculus, Calculus, and beyond!

Why is Pythagorean Theorem important to math?

The discovery of Pythagoras’ theorem led the Greeks to prove the existence of numbers that could not be expressed as rational numbers. For example, taking the two shorter sides of a right triangle to be 1 and 1, we are led to a hypotenuse of length , which is not a rational number.

What is the distance between point A and B?

The distance from A to B is the same as the distance from B to A. In order to derive the formula for the distance between two points in the plane, we consider two points A(a,b) and B(c,d). We can construct a right-angled triangle ABC, as shown in the following diagram, where the point C has coordinates (a,d).