The hypotenuse of a right triangle is the triangle's longest side; the side opposite the right angle. The length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle can be found using the Pythagorean theorem ...

hypotenuseThe longest side of a right-angled triangle, which is always opposite the right angle. When labelling a length as the hypotenuse, it can be shortened to 𝒉.

The use of the 3-4-5 triangle for constructing a right angle, for instance, goes back to much earlier times in Egypt, Babylon, and China.

I'm talking about trigonometry, of course: that bastion of angles and triangles that is essential to calculating velocity, momentum, and much more.

To solve for a hypotenuse (the longest side), you must start with a right triangle, which contains a 90-degree angle. From there, you square the length of each side.

For a right triangle, the side opposite to the right angle is called the hypotenuse (from Greek for “stretching under”). The two remaining sides are called legs.

Step 1: Draw a perpendicular line from the hypotenuse to the right angle. This partitions the original right triangle into two smaller right triangles.

It says that in a right triangle, the length c of the hypotenuse satisfies a2 + b2 = c2, where a and b are the lengths of the sides: ...