Hi there,

The Pythagorean theorem states that in a right triangle, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the two other sides. If we label the sides of the triangle a, b and c, and assume c is the hypotenuse, the "formula" for the theorem is c² = a² + b². If you want to find a or b, simply isolate that variable in the formula before substituting the numbers:

c² - a² = b² or c² - b² = a²
So sqrt(c² - a²) = b or sqrt(c² - b²) = a

If you plug in the values for the hypotenuse and the known side, you can then find the unknown side.

Hope this helps,

Leeanne