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Euphoriet
Aug10-04, 06:47 PM
Hi guys I'm looking for a website where I can review basic triangle rules such as the formulas for right triangles... I would look at a geometry book but I dont have one. Its been a long time and I need some reviewing to do.

I also wanted to ask if anyone knew about the group of triangles such as one with sides measuring 4,5,3.... , 24,25, 7 etc? This are the typical SAT triangles.. and I know there is a patter but I dont know what it is.

Thanks.

robert Ihnot
Aug10-04, 08:51 PM
Given integers, a and b, the entire pattern is generated by

X=a^2-b^2, Y=2ab, Z=a^2+b^2, where X^2 +Y^2 = Z^2.

You can check this by multiplication and by reading Modern Algebra by Birkhoff and MacLane.

Math Is Hard
Aug10-04, 10:02 PM
Here's some good info about about Pythagorean Triples:
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/PythagoreanTriple.html

Gokul43201
Aug10-04, 10:47 PM
Also, given any odd interger 'n', \frac {n^2 + 1}{2}, ~\frac {n^2 - 1}{2} complete a triple.

Thus, for 3, you have 4=(9-1)/2 and 5 =(9+1)/2
for 5, you have 12 = (25-1)/2, 13 = (25+1)/2
then there's 7, 24, 25 and 9, 40, 41 and so on..

Math Is Hard
Aug10-04, 11:47 PM
Also, given any odd interger 'n'....

but what's going on at n = 1?
a zero length side on a triangle can't be possible. :confused:


or maybe we're not talking strictly about triangles?

Euphoriet
Aug11-04, 06:12 AM
So what statement is true?.. i'm lost now

arildno
Aug11-04, 06:39 AM
but what's going on at n = 1?
a zero length side on a triangle can't be possible. :confused:


or maybe we're not talking strictly about triangles?

You've got a "degenarate" case here:
Two "sides" of length 1, one "side" with length 0; that is a straight line segment of length 1 traversed in opposite directions when going around your "triangle" (ending up on your starting point)

Euphoriet
Aug11-04, 03:25 PM
this is getting confusing now =-/

Math Is Hard
Aug11-04, 05:35 PM
I think our triangle just collapses to line segment when n = 1, that's all.
But correct me if I am wrong, arildno.

arildno
Aug11-04, 05:43 PM
That's what I meant, Math is hard ("degeneracy" is a word often used in similar cases).

NSX
Aug11-04, 09:10 PM
Negative numbers anyone?

hehe