In "The Wizard of Oz" the scarecrow attempts to demonstrate the capabilities of his newly-acquired brain by reciting the pythagorean theorem. He fails, perhaps indicating that having a brain isn't enough; it also needs to be kept in practice. More than two thousand years ago, Pythagorus came up with his theorem that relates the sides of a right triangle, which is a triangle containing a right angle. The side of the triangle opposite the right angle is the hypotenuse. With a little practice, you can easily calculate the hypotenuse, proving your brain is better than one instantly bestowed by a wizard.
Instructions
1
Hypotenuses are the sides opposite right angles in a right triangle -- and they appear both in nature and in artifacts.
Measure the sides of the triangle, except the hypotenuse. As an example, say you measure or are given side lengths of 6 and 8 feet.
2
Square the lengths of the two sides. For the example, 6^2 is 36 and 8^2 is 64.
3
Add the two squares. Continuing the example, 36 + 64 is 100.
4
The square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the remaining two sides of a right triangle --- the pythagorean theorem.
Take the square root of the sum. According to the pythagorean theorem, that is the hypotenuse. For the example, the square root of 100 is 10, so the hypotenuse is 10 feet long.