1.

Biography of Pythagoras
2. Pythagoras of Samos
Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of
the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of
the information about Pythagoras was written down
centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information
is known about him. He was born on the island of Samos,
and might have travelled widely in his youth,
visiting Egypt and other places seeking knowledge.
Around 530 BC, he moved to Croton, in Magna Graecia,
and there set up a religious sect. His followers pursued the
religious rites and practices developed by Pythagoras and
studied his philosophical theories. The society took an
active role in the politics of Croton but this eventually led
to their downfall. Pythagorean meeting-places were
burned and Pythagoras was forced to flee the city. He is
said to have died inMetapontum.
A brief history of Pythagoras theorem
the Pythagorean theorem takes its name from the ancient
Greek mathematician Pythagoras (569 B.C.?-500 B.C.?), who
was perhaps the first to offer a proof of the theorem. But people
had noticed the special relationship between the sides of a
right triangle long before Pythagoras.

The Pythagorean theorem states that the sum of the squares of

the lengths of the two other sides of any right triangle will
equal the square of the length of the hypoteneuse, or, in
mathematical terms, for the triangle shown at right, a2 + b2 =
c2. Integers that satisfy the conditions a2 + b2 = c2 are called
"Pythagorean triples."
Ancient clay tablets from Babylonia indicate that the
Babylonians in the second millennium B.C., 1000
years before Pythagoras, had rules for
generating Pythagorean triples, understood the relationship
between the sides of a right triangle, and, in solving for the

hypoteneuse of an isosceles right triangle, came up with an

approximation of
accurate to five decimal places. [They
needed to do so because the lengths would represent some
multiple of the formula: 12 + 12 = (
)2.]
A Chinese astronomical and mathematical treatise called Chou
Pei Suan Ching (The Arithmetical Classic of the Gnomon and
the Circular Paths of Heaven, ca. 500-200 B.C.), possibly
predating Pythagoras, gives a statement of and geometrical
demonstration of the Pythagorean theorem. (Click here for a
link to an explanation of this demonstration.)
Ancient Indian mathematicians also knew the Pythagorean
theorem, and the Sulbasutras (of which the earliest date from
ca. 800-600 B.C.) discuss it in the context of strict requirements
for the orientation, shape, and area of altars for religious
purposes. It has also been suggested that the ancient Mayas
used variations of Pythagorean triples in their Long
Count calendar.
We do not know for sure how Pythagoras himself proved the
theorem that bears his name because he refused to allow his
teachings to be recorded in writing. But probably, like most
ancient proofs of the Pythagorean theorem, it was geometrical
in nature. That is, such proofs are demonstrations that the
combined areas of squares with sides of length a and b will
equal the area of a square with sides of length c, where a, b,
and c represent the lengths of the two sides and hypoteneuse
of a right triangle.

Pythagoras himself was not simply a mathematician. He was an

important philosopher who believed that the world was ruled by
harmony and that numerical relationships could best express
this harmony. He was the first, for example, to represent
musical harmonies as simple ratios.
Pythagoras and his followers were also a bit eccentric.
Pythagoras's followers were sworn to absolute secrecy, and
their devotion to their master bordered on the cult-like.
Pythagoreans followed a strict moral and ethical code, which

included vegetarianism because of their belief in the

reincarnation of souls. They also refused to eat beans!
Statement of theorem
In mathematics, the Pythagorean Theorem
or Pythagoras' theoremis a relation in Euclidean
geometry among the three sides of a right triangle. It
states that the square of the hypotenuse (the side opposite
the right angle) is equal to the sum of the squares of the
other two sides. The theorem can be written as
an equation relating the lengths of the sides a, b and c,
often called the Pythagorean equation: [1]
Where c represents the length of the hypotenuse,
and a and b represent the lengths of the other two sides.
Proof of the theorem (give minimum 4 proofs)
Pythagorean Theorem
The theorem states that:
"The square on the hypotenuse of a right triangle is
equal to the sum of the squares on the two legs"
(Eves 80-81).
This theorem is talking about the area of the squares that
are built on each side of the right triangle.

1.
Accordingly, we obtain the following areas for the squares,
where the green and blue squares are on the legs of the
right triangle and the red square is on the hypotenuse.

Area of the green square is

area of the blue square is
area of the red square is
From our theorem, we have the following relationship:
area of green square + area of blue square = area of red
square or

As I stated earlier, this theorem was named after

Pythagoras because he was the first to prove it. He
probably used a dissection type of proof similar to the
following in proving this theorem.
Pythagoras' Proof
"Let a, b, c denote the legs and the hypotenuse of the given
right triangle, and consider the two squares in the
accompanying figure, each having a+b as its side. The first
square is dissected into six pieces-namely, the two squares
on the legs and four right triangles congruent to the given
triangle. The second square is dissected into five piecesnamely, the square on the hypotenuse and four right
triangles congruent to the given triangle. By subtracting
equals from equals, it now follows that the square on the
hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares on the legs"
(Eves 81).
Consider the following figure.

2.
The area of the first square is given by (a+b)^2 or
4(1/2ab)+ a^2 + b^2.
The area of the second square is given by (a+b)^2 or
4(1/2ab) + c^2.
Since the squares have equal areas we can set them equal
to another and subtract equals. The case
(a+b)^2=(a+b)^2 is not interesting. Let's do the other
case.
4(1/2ab) + a^2 + b^2 = 4(1/2ab)+ c^2
Subtracting equals from both sides we have
3.
Concluding Pythagoras' proof.
Over the years there have been many mathematicians and
non-mathematicians to give various proofs of the
Pythagorean Theorem. Following are proofs from Bhaskara
and one of our former presidents, President James Garfield.
I have chosen these proofs because any of them would be
appropriate to use in any classroom.
Bhaskara's First Proof
Bhaskara's proof it is similar to the proof provided by
Pythagoras. Bhaskara was born in India.

4.

In the above diagrams, the blue triangles are all congruent

and the yellow squares are congruent. First we need to find
the area of the big square two different ways. First let's
find the area using the area formula for a square.
Thus, A=c^2.
Now, lets find the area by finding the area of each of the
components and then sum the areas.
Area of the blue triangles = 4(1/2)ab
Area of the yellow square = (b-a)^2
Area of the big square = 4(1/2)ab + (b-a)^2
= 2ab + b^2 - 2ab + a^2
= b^2 + a^2
Since, the square has the same area no matter how you
find it
A = c^2 = a^2 + b^2,
concluding the proof.
Bhaskara's Second Proof of the Pythagorean
Theorem
In this proof, Bhaskara began with a right triangle and then
he drew an altitude on the hypotenuse. From here, he used
the properties of similarity to prove the theorem.

Now prove that triangles ABC and CBE are similar.

It follows from the AA postulate that triangle ABC is similar
to triangle CBE, since angle B is congruent to angle B and
angle C is congruent to angle E. Thus, since internal ratios
are equal s/a=a/c.
Multiplying both sides by ac we get
sc=a^2.
Now show that triangles ABC and ACE are similar.
As before, it follows from the AA postulate that these two
triangles are similar. Angle A is congruent to angle A and

angle C is congruent to angle E. Thus, r/b=b/c. Multiplying

both sides by bc we get
rc=b^2.
Now when we add the two results we get
sc + rc = a^2 + b^2.
c(s+r) = a^2 + b^2
c^2 = a^2 + b^2,
concluding the proof of the Pythagorean Theorem.
Garfield's Proof
The twentieth president of the United States gave the
following proof to the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered
this proof five years before he become President. He hit
upon this proof in 1876 during a mathematics discussion
with some of the members of Congress. It was later
published in the New England Journal of Education.. The
proof depends on calculating the area of a right trapezoid
two different ways. The first way is by using the area
formula of a trapezoid and the second is by summing up
the areas of the three right triangles that can be
constructed in the trapezoid. He used the following
trapezoid in developing his proof.

First, we need to find the area of the trapezoid by using the

area formula of the trapezoid.
A=(1/2)h(b1+b2) area of a trapezoid
In the above diagram, h=a+b, b1=a, and b2=b.
A=(1/2)(a+b)(a+b)
=(1/2)(a^2+2ab+b^2).
Now, let's find the area of the trapezoid by summing the area

of the three right triangles.

The area of the yellow triangle is
A=1/2(ba).
The area of the red triangle is
A=1/2(c^2).
The area of the blue triangle is
A= 1/2(ab).
The sum of the area of the triangles is
1/2(ba) + 1/2(c^2) + 1/2(ab) = 1/2(ba + c^2 + ab) =
1/2(2ab + c^2).
Since, this area is equal to the area of the trapezoid we have
the following relation:
(1/2)(a^2 + 2ab + b^2) = (1/2)(2ab + c^2).
Multiplying both sides by 2 and subtracting 2ab from both
sides we get
5.

Concluding the proof.

Can we see proof of Pythagoras theorem in tile pattern?

Pythagorean triplet
Use of Pythagoras theorem in day to day life