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Pythagorean Triples

Three whole numbers a , b , c which satisfy the equation of the Pythagorean Theorem ( a 2 + b 2 = c 2 ) are called Pythagorean triples . A few of the smallest ones are shown in the table below. Each Pythagorean Triple corresponds with a right triangle whose side lengths are in whole-number ratios.

Pythagorean Triples
3 , 4 , 5
3 2 + 4 2 = 5 2 9 + 16 = 25
6 , 8 , 10
6 2 + 8 2 = 10 2 36 + 64 = 100
5 , 12 , 13
5 2 + 12 2 = 13 2 25 + 144 = 169
8 , 15 , 17
8 2 + 15 2 = 17 2 64 + 225 = 289

Note that once you have one Pythagorean triple, you can get many more: just multiply all 3 numbers by a constant. For instance, from 3 , 4 , 5 , we get the family of triples:

3 , 4 , 5 6 , 8 , 10 9 , 12 , 15 12 , 16 , 20 15 , 20 , 25

etc.