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The Pythagorean Theorem - Educational Outreach

The Pythagorean Theorem - Educational Outreach

The Pythagorean Theorem - Educational Outreach

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a2Law of Cosines c2 b2 2bccos()<strong>The</strong> square of the side opposite the angle is equal to thesum of the squares of the two sides bounding the angleminus twice their product multiplied by the cosine of thebounded angle.Similar expressions can be written for the remaining twosides. We havecb22 a a22 b c22 2abcos( ) 2accos( )<strong>The</strong> Law of Cosines serves as a generalized form of the<strong>Pythagorean</strong> <strong>The</strong>orem. For if any one of the three angles(say in particular) is equal toimplying that.090 , then cos( ) 0aa22 c c22 b b22 2bc{0}In closing we will say that trigonometry in itself is avast topic that justifies its own course. This is indeed how itis taught throughout the world. A student is first given acourse in elementary trigonometry somewhere in highschool or early college. From there, advanced topics—suchas Fourier analysis of waveforms and transmissionphenomena—are introduced on an as-needed basisthroughout college and graduate school. Yet, no matter howadvanced either the subject of trigonometry or associatedapplications may become, all levels of modern trigonometrycan be directly traced back to the <strong>Pythagorean</strong> <strong>The</strong>orem.129

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