Pythagorean Theorem

Professor R. Smullyan in his book 5000 B.C. and Other Philosophical Fantasies tells of an
experiment he ran in one of his geometry classes. He drew a right triangle on the board with
squares on the hypotenuse and legs and observed the fact the the square on the hypotenuse
had a larger area than either of the other two squares. Then he asked, "Suppose these three
squares were made of beaten gold, and you were offered either the one large square or the
two small squares. Which would you choose?" Interestingly enough, about half the class
opted for the one large square and half for the two small squares. Both groups were equally
amazed when told that it would make no difference.
The Pythagorean (or Pythagoras') Theorem is the statement
that the sum of (the areas of) the two small squares equals
(the area of) the big one.
In algebraic terms, a + b = c where c is the hypotenuse
while a and b are the legs of the triangle.
The theorem is of fundamental importance in Euclidean
Geometry where it serves as a basis for the definition of
distance between two points. It's so basic and well known
that, I believe, anyone who took geometry classes in high
school couldn't fail to remember it long after other math
notions got thoroughly forgotten.
Below is a collection of 117 approaches to proving the theorem. Many of the proofs are
accompanied by interactive Java illustrations.

Remark
1. The statement of the Theorem was discovered on a Babylonian tablet circa 1900-1600
B.C. Whether Pythagoras (c.560-c.480 B.C.) or someone else from his School was the
first to discover its proof can't be claimed with any degree of credibility. Euclid's (c
300 B.C.) Elements furnish the first and, later, the standard reference in Geometry. In
fact Euclid supplied two very different proofs: the Proposition I.47 (First Book,
Proposition 47) and VI.31. The Theorem is reversible which means that its converse is
also true. The converse states that a triangle whose sides satisfy a + b = c is
necessarily right angled. Euclid was the first (I.48) to mention and prove this fact.
2. W. Dunham [Mathematical Universe] cites a book The Pythagorean Proposition by
an early 20th century professor Elisha Scott Loomis. The book is a collection of 367
proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem and has been republished by NCTM in 1968. In
the Foreword, the author rightly asserts that the number of algebraic proofs is limitless
as is also the number of geometric proofs, but that the proposition admits no
trigonometric proof. Curiously, nowhere in the book does Loomis mention Euclid's
VI.31 even when offering it and the variants as algebraic proofs 1 and 93 or as
geometric proof 230.

In all likelihood, Loomis drew inspiration from a series of short articles in The
American Mathematical Monthly published by B. F. Yanney and J. A. Calderhead in
1896-1899. Counting possible variations in calculations derived from the same
geometric configurations, the potential number of proofs there grew into thousands.
For example, the authors counted 45 proofs based on the diagram of proof #6 and
virtually as many based on the diagram of #19 below. I'll give an example of their
approach in proof #56. (In all, there were 100 "shorthand" proofs.)
I must admit that, concerning the existence of a trigonometric proof, I have been
siding with with Elisha Loomis until very recently, i.e., until I was informed of Proof
#84. Actually, for some people it came as a surprise that anybody could doubt the
existence of trigonometric proofs, so more of them have eventaully found their way to
these pages.
In trigonometric terms, the Pythagorean theorem asserts that in a triangle ABC, the
equality sinA + sinB = 1 is equivalent to the angle at C being right. A more
symmetric assertion is that ABC is right iff sinA + sinB + sinC = 2. By the sine
law, the latter is equivalent to a + b + c = 2d, where d is the diameter of the
circumcircle. Another form of the same property is cosA + cosB + cosC = 1 which I
like even more.
3. Pythagorean Theorem generalizes to spaces of higher dimensions. Some of the
generalizations are far from obvious. Pythagorean theorem serves as the basis of the
Euclidean distance formula.
4. Larry Hoehn came up with a plane generalization which is related to the law of
cosines but is shorter and looks nicer.
5. The Theorem whose formulation leads to the notion of Euclidean distance and
Euclidean and Hilbert spaces, plays an important role in Mathematics as a whole.
There is a small collection of rather elementray facts whose proof may be based on
the Pythagorean Theorem. There is a more recent page with a list of properties of the
Euclidian diagram for I.47.
6. Wherever all three sides of a right triangle are integers, their lengths form a
Pythagorean triple (or Pythagorean numbers). There is a general formula for
obtaining all such numbers.
7. My first math droodle was also related to the Pythagorean theorem. Unlike a proof
without words, a droodle may suggest a statement, not just a proof.
8. Several false proofs of the theorem have also been published. I have collected a few in
a separate page. It is better to learn from mistakes of others than to commit one's own.
9. It is known that the Pythagorean Theorem is Equivalent to Parallel Postulate.
10. The Pythagorean configuration is known under many names, the Bride's Chair being
probably the most popular. Besides the statement of the Pythagorean theorem, Bride's
chair has many interesting properties, many quite elementary.

11. The late Professor Edsger W. Dijkstra found an absolutely stunning generalization of
the Pythagorean theorem. If, in a triangle, angles , , lie opposite the sides of
length a, b, c, then
(EWD)
sign( + - ) = sign(a + b - c),
where sign(t) is the signum function:
sign(t)
sign(0)
sign(t)

= -1, for t < 0,

= 0,
= 1, for t > 0.

The theorem this page is devoted to is treated as "If = /2, then a + b = c."
Dijkstra deservedly finds (EWD) more symmetric and more informative. Absence of
transcendental quantities () is judged to be an additional advantage. Dijkstra's proof
is included as Proof 78 and is covered in more detail on a separate page.
12. The most famous of right-angled triangles, the one with dimensions 3:4:5, has been
sighted in Gothic Art and can be obtained by paper folding. Rather inadvertently, it
pops up in several Sangaku problems.
13. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Pythagorean theorem is a consequence of various
physical laws and is encountered in several mechanical phenomena.

Proof #1
This is probably the most famous of all proofs of the Pythagorean proposition. It's the first of
Euclid's two proofs (I.47). The underlying configuration became known under a variety of
names, the Bride's Chair likely being the most popular.

The proof has been illustrated by an award winning Java applet written by Jim Morey. I
include it on a separate page with Jim's kind permission. The proof below is a somewhat
shortened version of the original Euclidean proof as it appears in Sir Thomas Heath's
translation.
First of all, ABF = AEC by SAS. This is because, AE = AB, AF = AC, and
BAF = BAC + CAF = CAB + BAE = CAE.
ABF has base AF and the altitude from B equal to AC. Its area therefore equals half that of
square on the side AC. On the other hand, AEC has AE and the altitude from C equal to
AM, where M is the point of intersection of AB with the line CL parallel to AE. Thus the area
of AEC equals half that of the rectangle AELM. Which says that the area AC of the square
on side AC equals the area of the rectangle AELM.
Similarly, the area BC of the square on side BC equals that of rectangle BMLD. Finally, the
two rectangles AELM and BMLD make up the square on the hypotenuse AB.
The configuration at hand admits numerous variations. B. F. Yanney and J. A. Calderhead
(Am Math Monthly, v.4, n 6/7, (1987), 168-170 published several proofs based on the
following diagrams

Some properties of this configuration has been proved on the Bride's Chair and others at the
special Properties of the Figures in Euclid I.47 page.

Proof #2

We start with two squares with sides a and b, respectively, placed side by side. The total area
of the two squares is a+b.

The construction did not start with a triangle but now we draw two of them, both with sides a
and b and hypotenuse c. Note that the segment common to the two squares has been
removed. At this point we therefore have two triangles and a strange looking shape.

As a last step, we rotate the triangles 90, each around its top vertex. The right one is rotated
clockwise whereas the left triangle is rotated counterclockwise. Obviously the resulting shape
is a square with the side c and area c. This proof appears in a dynamic incarnation.
(A variant of this proof is found in an extant manuscript by Thbit ibn Qurra located in the
library of Aya Sofya Musium in Turkey, registered under the number 4832. [R. Shloming,
Thbit ibn Qurra and the Pythagorean Theorem, Mathematics Teacher 63 (Oct., 1970), 519528]. ibn Qurra's diagram is similar to that in proof #27. The proof itself starts with noting the
presence of four equal right triangles surrounding a strangely looking shape as in the current
proof #2. These four triangles correspond in pairs to the starting and ending positions of the
rotated triangles in the current proof. This same configuration could be observed in a proof by
tessellation.)

Proof #3

Now we start with four copies of the same triangle. Three of these have been rotated 90,
180, and 270, respectively. Each has area ab/2. Let's put them together without additional
rotations so that they form a square with side c.

The square has a square hole with the side (a - b). Summing up its area (a - b) and 2ab, the
area of the four triangles (4ab/2), we get
c

= (a - b) + 2ab

= a - 2ab + b + 2ab
= a + b

Proof #4
The fourth approach starts with the same four triangles, except that, this time, they combine
to form a square with the side (a + b) and a hole with the side c. We can compute the area of
the big square in two ways. Thus
(a + b) = 4ab/2 + c
simplifying which we get the needed identity.
A proof which combines this with proof #3 is credited to the 12th
century Hindu mathematician Bhaskara (Bhaskara II):
Nelsen (p. 4) gives Bhaskara credit also for proof #3.
Here we add the two identities
c = (a - b) + 4ab/2 and
c = (a + b) - 4ab/2
which gives
2c = 2a + 2b.
The latter needs only be divided by 2. This is the algebraic proof # 36 in Loomis' collection.
Its variant, specifically applied to the 3-4-5 triangle, has featured in the Chinese classic Chou
Pei Suan Ching dated somewhere between 300 BC and 200 AD and which Loomis refers to
as proof 253.

Proof #5
This proof, discovered by President J. A. Garfield in 1876 [Pappas], is a variation on the
previous one. But this time we draw no squares at all. The key now is the formula for the area

of a trapezoid - half sum of the bases times the altitude - (a + b)/2(a + b). Looking at the
picture another way, this also can be computed as the sum of areas of the three triangles ab/2 + ab/2 + cc/2. As before, simplifications yield a + b = c. (There is
more to that story.)
Two copies of the same trapezoid can be combined in two ways by
attaching them along the slanted side of the trapezoid. One leads to the
proof #4, the other to proof #52.
Another development is due to Tony Foster: it also invokes an image of
trapezoid but under in a different light.

Proof #6
We start with the original right triangle, now denoted ABC, and need only one additional
construct - the altitude AD. The triangles ABC, DBA, and DAC are similar which leads to
two ratios:
AB/BC = BD/AB and AC/BC = DC/AC.
Written another way these become
ABAB = BDBC and ACAC = DCBC
Summing up we get
ABAB + ACAC

= BDBC + DCBC
= (BD+DC)BC = BCBC.

In a little different form, this proof appeared in the Mathematics Magazine, 33 (March, 1950),
p. 210, in the Mathematical Quickies section, see Mathematical
Quickies, by C. W. Trigg.
Taking AB = a, AC = b, BC = c and denoting BD = x, we obtain as
above
a = cx and b = c(c - x),
which perhaps more transparently leads to the same identity.
In a private correspondence, Dr. France Dacar, Ljubljana, Slovenia,
has suggested that the diagram on the right may serve two purposes. First, it gives an
additional graphical representation to the present proof #6. In addition, it highlights the
relation of the latter to proof #1.
R. M. Mentock has observed that a little trick makes the proof more succinct. In the common
notations, c = b cos A + a cos B. But, from the original triangle, it's easy to see that cos A =
b/c and cos B = a/c so c = b (b/c) + a (a/c). This variant immediately brings up a question: are

we getting in this manner a trigonometric proof? I do not think so, although a trigonometric
function (cosine) makes here a prominent appearance. The ratio of two lengths in a figure is a
shape property meaning that it remains fixed in passing between similar figures, i.e., figures
of the same shape. That a particular ratio used in the proof happened to play a sufficiently
important role in trigonometry and, more generally, in mathematics, so as to deserve a special
notation of its own, does not cause the proof to depend on that notation. (However, check
Proof 84 where trigonometric identities are used in a significant way.)
Michael Brozinsky came up with a variant of the proof that I believe could be properly
referred to as lipogrammatic.
Finally, it must be mentioned that the configuration exploited in this proof is just a specific
case of the one from the next proof - Euclid's second and less known proof of the
Pythagorean proposition. A separate page is devoted to a proof by the similarity argument.

Proof #7
The next proof is taken verbatim from Euclid VI.31 in translation by Sir Thomas L. Heath.
The great G. Polya analyzes it in his Induction and Analogy in Mathematics (II.5) which is a
recommended reading to students and teachers of Mathematics.
In right-angled triangles the figure on the side subtending the right angle is equal to the
similar and similarly described figures on the sides containing the right angle.
Let ABC be a right-angled triangle having the angle BAC right; I say that the figure on BC is
equal to the similar and similarly described figures on BA, AC.
Let AD be drawn perpendicular. Then since, in the right-angled triangle ABC, AD has been
drawn from the right angle at A perpendicular to the base BC, the triangles ABD, ADC
adjoining the perpendicular are similar both to the whole
ABC and to one another [VI.8].
And, since ABC is similar to ABD, therefore, as CB is to
BA so is AB to BD [VI.Def.1].
And, since three straight lines are proportional, as the first is
to the third, so is the figure on the first to the similar and
similarly described figure on the second [VI.19]. Therefore,
as CB is to BD, so is the figure on CB to the similar and
similarly described figure on BA.
For the same reason also, as BC is to CD, so is the figure on BC to that on CA; so that, in
addition, as BC is to BD, DC, so is the figure on BC to the similar and similarly described
figures on BA, AC.

But BC is equal to BD, DC; therefore the figure on BC is

also equal to the similar and similarly described figures
on BA, AC.
Therefore etc. Q.E.D.

Confession
I got a real appreciation of this proof only after reading
the book by Polya I mentioned above. I hope that a Java
applet will help you get to the bottom of this remarkable proof. Note that the statement
actually proven is much more general than the theorem as it's generally known. (Another
discussion looks at VI.31 from a little different angle.)

Proof #8
Playing with the applet that demonstrates the Euclid's proof (#7), I have discovered another
one which, although ugly, serves the purpose
nonetheless.
Thus starting with the triangle 1 we add three more in
the way suggested in proof #7: similar and similarly
described triangles 2, 3, and 4. Deriving a couple of
ratios as was done in proof #6 we arrive at the side
lengths as depicted on the diagram. Now, it's possible
to look at the final shape in two ways:

as a union of the rectangle (1 + 3 + 4) and the triangle 2, or

as a union of the rectangle (1 + 2) and two triangles 3 and 4.

Equating the areas leads to

ab/c (a + b)/c + ab/2 = ab + (ab/c a/c + ab/c b/c)/2
Simplifying we get
ab/c (a + b)/c/2 = ab/2, or (a + b)/c = 1

Remark
In hindsight, there is a simpler proof. Look at the rectangle (1 + 3 + 4). Its long side is, on one
hand, plain c, while, on the other hand, it's a/c + b/c and we again have the same identity.
Vladimir Nikolin from Serbia supplied a beautiful illustration:

Proof #9
Another proof stems from a rearrangement of rigid pieces, much like proof #2. It makes the
algebraic part of proof #4 completely redundant. There is nothing much one can add to the
two pictures.
(My sincere thanks go to Monty Phister for
the kind permission to use the graphics.)
There is an interactive simulation to toy with.
And another one that clearly shows its
relation to proofs #24 or #69.
Loomis (pp. 49-50) mentions that the proof "was devised by Maurice Laisnez, a high school
boy, in the Junior-Senior High School of South Bend, Ind., and sent to me, May 16, 1939, by
his class teacher, Wilson Thornton."
The proof has been published by Rufus Isaac in Mathematics Magazine, Vol. 48 (1975), p.
198.

A slightly different rearragement leads to a hinged dissection illustrated by a Java applet.

R. B. Nelsen reproduces the proof with a remark "based on the one from Zhou bi suan jing, a
Chinese document dating from approximately 200 BC." Sir Thomas L. Heath mentions it in
his commentary (1908) on Euclid I.47 without attribution but with a reference to two other
contemporary commentators.

Proof #10
This and the next 3 proofs came from [PWW].
The triangles in Proof #3 may be rearranged in yet another way that makes the Pythagorean
identity obvious.
(A more elucidating diagram on the right was kindly sent to me by Monty Phister. The proof
admits a hinged dissection illustrated by a Java applet.)
The first two pieces may be combined into one. The result appear in a 1830 book Sanpo
Shinsyo - New Mathematics - by Chiba Tanehide (1775-1849), [H. Fukagawa, A. Rothman,
Sacred Mathematics: Japanese Temple Geometry, Princeton University Press, 2008, p. 83].

Proof #11
Draw a circle with radius c and a right triangle with sides a and
b as shown. In this situation, one may apply any of a few well
known facts. For example, in the diagram three points F, G, H
located on the circle form another right triangle with the
altitude FK of length a. Its hypotenuse GH is split in two
pieces: (c + b) and (c - b). So, as in Proof #6, we get a = (c + b)
(c - b) = c - b.
[Loomis, #53] attributes this construction to the great Leibniz, but lengthens the proof about
threefold with meandering and misguided derivations.
B. F. Yanney and J. A. Calderhead (Am Math Monthly, v.3, n. 12 (1896), 299-300) offer a
somewhat different route. Imagine FK is extended to the second intersection F' with the
circle. Then, by the Intersecting Chords theorem, FKKF' = GKKH, with the same
implication.
More recently, Daniel J. Hardisky, arrived at the proof by a different route. Construct two
isosceles triangles ABD and ABE, with D and E on AC on both sides of A. Then note that
\angle DBE is right.

This argument is reminescent of a characterization of right triangles discussed elsewhere.

Proof #12

This proof is a variation on #1, one of the original

Euclid's proofs. In parts 1,2, and 3, the two small
squares are sheared towards each other such that
the total shaded area remains unchanged (and equal
to a+b.) In part 3, the length of the vertical
portion of the shaded area's border is exactly c
because the two leftover triangles are copies of the
original one. This means one may slide down the
shaded area as in part 4. From here the
Pythagorean Theorem follows easily.
(This proof can be found in H. Eves, In
Mathematical Circles, MAA, 2002, pp. 74-75)

Proof #13
In the diagram there is several similar triangles (abc,
a'b'c', a'x, and b'y.) We successively have
y/b = b'/c, x/a = a'/c, cy + cx = aa' + bb'.
And, finally, cc' = aa' + bb'. This is very much like
Proof #6 but the result is more general.

Proof #14
This proof by H.E. Dudeney (1917) starts by cutting the square
on the larger side into four parts that are then combined with
the smaller one to form the square built on the hypotenuse.
Greg Frederickson from Purdue University, the author of a truly illuminating book,
Dissections: Plane & Fancy (Cambridge University Press, 1997), pointed out the historical
inaccuracy:
You attributed proof #14 to H.E. Dudeney (1917), but it was actually published earlier (1872)
by Henry Perigal, a London stockbroker. A different dissection proof appeared much earlier,
given by the Arabian mathematician/astronomer Thbit in the tenth century. I have included
details about these and other dissections proofs (including proofs of the Law of Cosines) in
my recent book "Dissections: Plane & Fancy", Cambridge University Press, 1997. You might
enjoy the web page for the book:
http://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/gnf/book.html
Sincerely,
Greg Frederickson

Bill Casselman from the University of British Columbia seconds Greg's information. Mine
came from Proofs Without Words by R.B.Nelsen (MAA, 1993).
The proof has a dynamic version.

Proof #15
This remarkable proof by K. O. Friedrichs is a generalization of the previous one by Dudeney
(or by Perigal, as above). It's indeed general. It's general in the sense that an infinite variety of
specific geometric proofs may be derived from it. (Roger Nelsen ascribes [PWWII, p 3] this
proof to Annairizi of Arabia (ca. 900 A.D.)) An especially nice variant by Olof Hanner
appears on a separate page.
A variant of the basic proof has been sent to me by Miquel Plens, a high school student from
Catalonia. Miquel considers the overlap of eight squares on the three sides of a right triangle
and the leftover pieces. I placed his submission on a separate page.

Proof #16
This proof is ascribed to Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) [Eves].
Quadrilaterals ABHI, JHBC, ADGC, and EDGF are all equal. (This
follows from the observation that the angle ABH is 45. This is so
because ABC is right-angled, thus center O of the square ACJI lies
on the circle circumscribing triangle ABC. Obviously, angle ABO is
45.) Now, Area(ABHI) + Area(JHBC) = Area(ADGC) +
Area(EDGF). Each sum contains two areas of triangles equal to
ABC (IJH or BEF) removing which one obtains the Pythagorean
Theorem.
David King modifies the argument somewhat

The side lengths of the hexagons are identical. The angles at P (right angle + angle between a
& c) are identical. The angles at Q (right angle + angle between b & c) are identical.
Therefore all four quadrilaterals are identical, and, therefore, the hexagons have the same
area.

Proof #17
This proof appears in the Book IV of Mathematical Collection
by Pappus of Alexandria (ca A.D. 300) [Eves, Pappas]. It
generalizes the Pythagorean Theorem in two ways: the
triangle ABC is not required to be right-angled and the shapes
built on its sides are arbitrary parallelograms instead of
squares. Thus build parallelograms CADE and CBFG on sides
AC and, respectively, BC. Let DE and FG meet in H and draw
AL and BM parallel and equal to HC. Then Area(ABML) =
Area(CADE) + Area(CBFG). Indeed, with the sheering
transformation already used in proofs #1 and #12,
Area(CADE) = Area(CAUH) = Area(SLAR) and also Area(CBFG) = Area(CBVH) =
Area(SMBR). Now, just add up what's equal.
A dynamic illustration is available elsewhere.

Proof #18
This is another generalization that does not require right angles. It's due to
Thbit ibn Qurra (836-901) [Eves]. If angles CAB, AC'B and AB'C are
equal then AC + AB = BC(CB' + BC'). Indeed, triangles ABC, AC'B and

AB'C are similar. Thus we have AB/BC' = BC/AB and AC/CB' = BC/AC which immediately
leads to the required identity. In case the angle A is right, the theorem reduces to the
Pythagorean proposition and proof #6.
The same diagram is exploited in a different way by E. W. Dijkstra who concentrates on
comparison of BC with the sum CB' + BC'.

Proof #19
This proof is a variation on #6. On the small side AB add a
right-angled triangle ABD similar to ABC. Then, naturally,
DBC is similar to the other two. From Area(ABD) +
Area(ABC) = Area(DBC), AD = AB/AC and
BD = ABBC/AC we derive (AB/AC)AB + ABAC = (ABBC/AC)BC. Dividing by
AB/AC leads to AB + AC = BC.

Proof #20
This one is a cross between #7 and #19. Construct
triangles ABC', BCA', and ACB' similar to ABC, as in the
diagram. By construction, ABC = A'BC. In addition,
triangles ABB' and ABC' are also equal. Thus we conclude
that Area(A'BC) + Area(AB'C) = Area(ABC'). From the
similarity of triangles we get as before B'C = AC/BC and
BC' = ACAB/BC. Putting it all together yields ACBC +
(AC/BC)AC = AB(ACAB/BC) which is the same as
BC + AC = AB.

Proof #21
The following is an excerpt from a letter by Dr. Scott Brodie from the Mount Sinai School of
Medicine, NY who sent me a couple of proofs of the theorem proper and its generalization to
the Law of Cosines:
The first proof I merely pass on from the excellent discussion in the Project Mathematics
series, based on Ptolemy's theorem on quadrilaterals inscribed in a circle: for such
quadrilaterals, the sum of the products of the lengths of the opposite sides, taken in pairs
equals the product of the lengths of the two diagonals. For the case of a rectangle, this
reduces immediately to a + b = c.

Proof #22

Here is the second proof from Dr. Scott Brodie's letter.

We take as known a Power of a Point theorem: If a point is taken exterior to a circle, and
from the point a segment is drawn tangent to the circle and another segment (a secant) is
drawn which cuts the circle in two distinct points, then the square of the length of the tangent
is equal to the product of the distance along the secant from the external point to the nearer
point of intersection with the circle and the distance along the secant to the farther point of
intersection with the circle.
Let ABC be a right triangle, with the right angle at C. Draw the altitude from C to the
hypotenuse; let P denote the foot of this altitude. Then since CPB is right, the point P lies on
the circle with diameter BC; and since CPA is right, the point P lies on the circle with
diameter AC. Therefore the intersection of the two circles on the legs BC, CA of the original
right triangle coincides with P, and in particular, lies on AB. Denote by x and y the lengths of
segments BP and PA, respectively, and, as usual let a, b, c denote the lengths of the sides of
ABC opposite the angles A, B, C respectively. Then, x + y =
c.
Since angle C is right, BC is tangent to the circle with
diameter CA, and the Power of a Point theorem states that a
= xc; similarly, AC is tangent to the circle with diameter BC,
and b = yc. Adding, we find a + b = xc + yc = c, Q.E.D.
Dr. Brodie also created a Geometer's SketchPad file to
illustrate this proof.
(This proof has been published as number XXIV in a collection of proofs by B. F. Yanney
and J. A. Calderhead in Am Math Monthly, v. 4, n. 1 (1897), pp. 11-12.)

Proof #23
Another proof is based on the Heron's formula. (In passing, with the help of the formula I
displayed the areas in the applet that illustrates Proof #7). This is a rather convoluted way to
prove the Pythagorean Theorem that, nonetheless reflects on the centrality of the Theorem in
the geometry of the plane. (A shorter and a more transparent application of Heron's formula is
the basis of proof #75.)

Proof #24

[Swetz] ascribes this proof to abu' l'Hasan Thbit ibn

Qurra Marwn al'Harrani (826-901). It's the second
of the proofs given by Thbit ibn Qurra. The first one
is essentially the #2 above.
The proof resembles part 3 from proof #12. ABC =
FLC = FMC = BED = AGH = FGE. On one
hand, the area of the shape ABDFH equals
AC + BC + Area(ABC + FMC + FLC). On the
other hand,
Area(ABDFH) = AB + Area(BED + FGE + AG
H).
Thbit ibn Qurra's admits a natural generalization to a proof of the Law of Cosines.
A dynamic illustration of ibn Qurra's proof is also available.

This is an "unfolded" variant of the above proof. Two pentagonal regions - the red and the
blue - are obviously equal and leave the same area upon removal of three equal triangles from
each.
The proof is popularized by Monty Phister, author of the inimitable Gnarly Math CD-ROM.
Floor van Lamoen has gracefully pointed me to an earlier source. Eduard Douwes Dekker,
one of the most famous Dutch authors, published in 1888 under the pseudonym of Multatuli a
proof accompanied by the following diagram.
Scott Brodie pointed to the obvious relation of this proof to # 9. It is the same configuration
but short of one triangle.

Proof #25
B.F.Yanney (1903, [Swetz]) gave a proof using the "shearing
argument" also employed in the Proofs #1 and #12.
Successively, areas of LMOA, LKCA, and ACDE (which is
AC) are equal as are the areas of HMOB, HKCB, and HKDF
(which is BC). BC = DF. Thus AC + BC = Area(LMOA) +
Area(HMOB) = Area(ABHL) = AB.

Proof #26
This proof I discovered at the site maintained by
Bill Casselman where it is presented by a Java
applet.
With all the above proofs, this one must be simple.
Similar triangles like in proofs #6 or #13.

Proof #27
The same pieces as in proof #26 may be rearranged
in yet another manner.
This dissection is often attributed to the 17th
century Dutch mathematician Frans van Schooten.
[Frederickson, p. 35] considers it as a hinged variant of one by ibn Qurra, see the note in
parentheses following proof #2. Dr. France Dacar from Slovenia has pointed out that this
same diagram is easily explained with a tessellation in proof #15. As a matter of fact, it may
be better explained by a different tessellation. (I thank Douglas Rogers for setting this straight
for me.)

The configuration at hand admits numerous variations. B. F. Yanney and J. A. Calderhead

(Am Math Monthly, v. 6, n. 2 (1899), 33-34) published several proofs based on the following
diagrams (multiple proofs per diagram at that)

Proof #28
Melissa Running from
MathForum has kindly sent me a
link (that since disappeared) to a
page by Donald B. Wagner, an
expert on history of science and
technology in China. Dr. Wagner
appeared to have reconstructed a
proof by Liu Hui (third century
AD). However (see below), there
are serious doubts to the
authorship of the proof.
Elisha Loomis cites this as the
geometric proof #28 with the
following comment:
a. Benjir von Gutheil, oberlehrer at Nurnberg, Germany, produced the above proof. He
died in the trenches in France, 1914. So wrote J. Adams, August 1933.
b. Let us call it the B. von Gutheil World War Proof.

Judging by the Sweet Land movie, such forgiving attitude towards a German colleague may
not have been common at the time close to the WWI. It might have been even more guarded
in the 1930s during the rise to power of the nazis in Germany.
(I thank D. Rogers for bringing the reference to Loomis' collection to my attention. He also
expressed a reservation as regard the attribution of the proof to Liu Hui and traced its early
appearance to Karl Julius Walther Lietzmann's Geometrische aufgabensamming Ausgabe B:
fuer Realanstalten, published in Leipzig by Teubner in 1916. Interestingly, the proof has not
been included in Lietzmann's earlier Der Pythagoreische Lehrsatz published in 1912.)

Proof #29

A mechanical proof of the theorem deserves a page of its own.

Pertinent to that proof is a page "Extra-geometric" proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem by
Scott Brodie

Proof #30
This proof I found in R. Nelsen's sequel Proofs Without Words II. (It's due to Poo-sung Park
and was originally published in Mathematics Magazine, Dec 1999). Starting with one of the
sides of a right triangle, construct 4 congruent right isosceles triangles with hypotenuses of
any subsequent two perpendicular and apices away from the given triangle. The hypotenuse
of the first of these triangles (in red in the diagram) should coincide with one of the sides.

The apices of the isosceles triangles form a square with

the side equal to the hypotenuse of the given triangle.
The hypotenuses of those triangles cut the sides of the
square at their midpoints. So that there appear to be 4
pairs of equal triangles (one of the pairs is in green).
One of the triangles in the pair is inside the square, the
other is outside. Let the sides of the original triangle be
a, b, c (hypotenuse). If the first isosceles triangle was
built on side b, then each has area b/4. We obtain
a + 4b/4 = c
There's a dynamic illustration and another diagram that
shows how to dissect two smaller squares and rearrange
them into the big one.

This diagram also has a dynamic variant.

Proof #31
Given right ABC, let, as usual, denote the lengths of sides BC, AC and that of the
hypotenuse as a, b, and c, respectively. Erect squares on sides BC and AC as on the diagram.
According to SAS, triangles ABC and PCQ are equal, so that QPC = A. Let M be the
midpoint of the hypotenuse. Denote the intersection of MC and PQ as R. Let's show that MR
PQ.
The median to the hypotenuse equals half of the latter.
Therefore, CMB is isosceles and MBC = MCB. But we
also have PCR = MCB. From here and QPC = A it
follows that angle CRP is right, or MR PQ.
With these preliminaries we turn to triangles MCP and MCQ.
We evaluate their areas in two different ways:
One one hand, the altitude from M to PC equals AC/2 = b/2. But also PC = b. Therefore,
Area(MCP) = b/4. On the other hand, Area(MCP) = CMPR/2 = cPR/4. Similarly,
Area(MCQ) = a/4 and also Area(MCQ) = CMRQ/2 = cRQ/4.

We may sum up the two identities: a/4 + b/4 = cPR/4 + cRQ/4, or a/4 + b/4 = cc/4.
(My gratitude goes to Floor van Lamoen who brought this proof to my attention. It appeared
in Pythagoras - a dutch math magazine for schoolkids - in the December 1998 issue, in an
article by Bruno Ernst. The proof is attributed to an American High School student from 1938
by the name of Ann Condit. The proof is included as the geometric proof 68 in Loomis'
collection, p. 140.)

Proof #32
Let ABC and DEF be two congruent right triangles such that B lies on DE and A, F, C, E are
collinear. BC = EF = a, AC = DF = b, AB = DE = c. Obviously, AB DE. Compute the area
of ADE in two different ways.
Area(ADE) = ABDE/2 = c/2 and also Area(ADE) =
DFAE/2 = bAE/2. AE = AC + CE = b + CE. CE can be found
from similar triangles BCE and DFE: CE = BCFE/DF = aa/b.
Putting things together we obtain
c/2 = b(b + a/b)/2
(This proof is a simplification of one of the proofs by Michelle Watkins, a student at the
University of North Florida, that appeared in Math Spectrum 1997/98, v30, n3, 53-54.)
Douglas Rogers observed that the same diagram can be treated differently:
Proof 32 can be tidied up a bit further, along the lines of the later proofs added more recently,
and so avoiding similar triangles.
Of course, ADE is a triangle on base DE with height AB, so of area cc/2.
But it can be dissected into the triangle FEB and the quadrilateral ADBF. The former has base
FE and height BC, so area aa/2. The latter in turn consists of two triangles back to back on
base DF with combined heights AC, so area bb/2. An alternative dissection sees triangle ADE
as consisting of triangle ADC and triangle CDE, which, in turn, consists of two triangles back
to back on base BC, with combined heights EF.

The next two proofs have accompanied the following message from Shai Simonson,
Professor at Stonehill College in Cambridge, MA:
Greetings,
I was enjoying looking through your site, and stumbled on the long list of Pyth Theorem
Proofs.

In my course "The History of Mathematical Ingenuity" I use two proofs that use an inscribed
circle in a right triangle. Each proof uses two diagrams, and each is a different geometric
view of a single algebraic proof that I discovered many years ago and published in a letter to
Mathematics Teacher.
The two geometric proofs require no words, but do require a little thought.
Best wishes,
Shai

Proof #33

Proof #34

Proof #35
Cracked Domino - a proof by Mario Pacek (aka Pakoslaw Gwizdalski) - also requires some
thought.

The proof sent via email was accompanied by the following message:
This new, extraordinary and extremely elegant proof of quite probably the most fundamental
theorem in mathematics (hands down winner with respect to the # of proofs 367?) is superior
to all known to science including the Chinese and James A. Garfield's (20th US president),
because it is direct, does not involve any formulas and even preschoolers can get it. Quite
probably it is identical to the lost original one - but who can prove that? Not in the Guinness
Book of Records yet!
The manner in which the pieces are combined may well be original. The dissection itself is
well known (see Proofs 26 and 27) and is described in Frederickson's book, p. 29. It's
remarked there that B. Brodie (1884) observed that the dissection like that also applies to
similar rectangles. The dissection is also a particular instance of the superposition proof by
K.O.Friedrichs.

Proof #36
This proof is due to J. E. Bttcher and has been quoted by Nelsen (Proofs Without Words II,
p. 6).

I think cracking this proof without words is a good exercise for middle or high school
geometry class.
S. K. Stein, (Mathematics: The Man-Made Universe, Dover, 1999, p. 74) gives a slightly
different dissection.

Both variants have a dynamic version. There is another, especially illuminating illustration of
Bttcher's decomposition.

Proof #37
An applet by David King that demonstrates this proof has been placed on a separate page.

Proof #38
This proof was also communicated to me by David King. Squares and 2 triangles combine to
produce two hexagon of equal area, which might have been established as in Proof #9.
However, both hexagons tessellate the plane.

For every hexagon in the left tessellation there is a hexagon in the right tessellation. Both
tessellations have the same lattice structure which is demonstrated by an applet. The
Pythagorean theorem is proven after two triangles are removed from each of the hexagons.

Proof #39
(By J. Barry Sutton, The Math Gazette, v 86, n 505, March 2002, p72.)

Let in ABC, angle C = 90. As usual, AB = c, AC = b, BC = a. Define points D and E on AB

so that AD = AE = b.
By construction, C lies on the circle with center A and radius b. Angle DCE subtends its
diameter and thus is right: DCE = 90. It follows that BCD = ACE. Since ACE is
isosceles, CEA = ACE.
Triangles DBC and EBC share DBC. In addition, BCD =
DBC and EBC are similar. We have BC/BE = BD/BC, or

BEC. Therefore, triangles

a / (c + b) = (c - b) / a.
And finally
a = c - b,
a + b = c.
The diagram reminds one of Thbit ibn Qurra's proof. But the two are quite different.
However, this is exactly proof 14 from Elisha Loomis' collection. Furthermore, Loomis
provides two earlier references from 1925 and 1905. With the circle centered at A drawn,
Loomis repeats the proof as 82 (with references from 1887, 1880, 1859, 1792) and also lists
(as proof 89) a symmetric version of the above:

For the right triangle ABC, with right angle at C, extend AB in both directions so that AE =
AC = b and BG = BC = a. As above we now have triangles DBC and EBC similar. In
addition, triangles AFC and ACG are also similar, which results in two identities:
a = c - b, and
b = c - a.
Instead of using either of the identities directly, Loomis adds the two:
2(a + b) = 2c,
which appears as both graphical and algebraic overkill.

Proof #40

This one is by Michael Hardy from University of Toledo and was published in The
Mathematical Intelligencer in 1988. It must be taken with a grain of salt.
Let ABC be a right triangle with hypotenuse BC. Denote AC = x and BC = y. Then, as C
moves along the line AC, x changes and so does y. Assume x changed by a small amount dx.
Then y changed by a small amount dy. The triangle CDE may be approximately considered
right. Assuming it is, it shares one angle (D) with triangle ABD, and is therefore similar to the
latter. This leads to the proportion x/y = dy/dx, or a (separable) differential equation
ydy - xdx = 0,
which after integration gives y - x = const. The value of the constant is determined from the
initial condition for x = 0. Since y(0) = a, y = x + a for all x.
It is easy to take an issue with this proof. What does it mean for a triangle to be
approximately right? I can offer the following explanation. Triangles ABC and ABD are right
by construction. We have, AB + AC = BC and also AB + AD = BD, by the Pythagorean
theorem. In terms of x and y, the theorem appears as
x + a = y
(x + dx) + a = (y + dy)
which, after subtraction, gives
ydy - xdx = (dx - dy)/2.
For small dx and dy, dx and dy are even smaller and might be neglected, leading to the
approximate ydy - xdx = 0.
The trick in Michael's vignette is in skipping the issue of approximation. But can one really
justify the derivation without relying on the Pythagorean theorem in the first place?
Regardless, I find it very much to my enjoyment to have the ubiquitous equation ydy - xdx
= 0 placed in that geometric context.

An amplified, but apparently independent, version of this proof has been published by Mike
Staring (Mathematics Magazine, V. 69, n. 1 (Feb., 1996), 45-46).

Assuming x > 0 and detecting similar triangles,

f / x = CQ/CD > CP/CD = CA/CB = x/f(x).
But also,
f / x = SD/CD < RD/CD = AD/BD = (x + x) / (f(x) + f) < x/f(x) + x/f(x).
Passing to the limit as x tends to 0+, we get
df / dx = x / f(x).
The case of x < 0 is treated similarly. Now, solving the differential equation we get
f 2(x) = x + c.
The constant c is found from the boundary condition f(0) = b: c = b. And the proof is
complete.

Proof #41

Create 3 scaled copies of the triangle with sides a, b, c by multiplying it by a, b, and c in turn.
Put together, the three similar triangles thus obtained to form a rectangle whose upper side is
a + b, whereas the lower side is c.
For additional details and modifications see a separate page.

Proof #42
The proof is based on the same diagram as #33 [Pritchard, p. 226-227].

Area of a triangle is obviously rp, where r is the inradius and p = (a + b + c)/2 the
semiperimeter of the triangle. From the diagram, the hypothenuse c = (a - r) + (b - r), or r = p
- c. The area of the triangle then is computed in two ways:
p(p - c) = ab/2,
which is equivalent to
(a + b + c)(a + b - c) = 2ab,
or

(a + b) - c = 2ab.
And finally
a + b - c = 0.
The proof is due to Jack Oliver, and was originally published in Mathematical Gazette 81
(March 1997), p 117-118.
Maciej Maderek informed me that the same proof appeared in a Polish 1988 edition of
Sladami Pitagorasa by Szczepan Jelenski:

Jelenski attributes the proof to Mllmann without mentioning a source or a date.

John F. Rigby made a relevant observation in 1996 (WALMATO Conference, University of
Wales, Gergynog, 1996). His notations are clear from the diagram.
Computing the area of the triangle in two way gives (r+x)(r+y)=r(2r+2x+2y), which could be
simplified to
r + rx + ry = xy
which is transformed into (r+x) + (r+y) = (x+y) by adding
x + y to both sides.

Proof #43
By Larry Hoehn [Pritchard, p. 229, and Math Gazette].

Apply the Power of a Point theorem to the diagram above where the side a serves as a tangent
to a circle of radius b: (c - b)(c + b) = a. The result follows immediately.
(The configuration here is essentially the same as in proof #39. The invocation of the Power
of a Point theorem may be regarded as a shortcut to the argument in proof #39. Also, this is
exactly proof XVI by B. F. Yanney and J. A. Calderhead, Am Math Monthly, v.3, n. 12
(1896), 299-300.)
John Molokach suggested a modification based on the following diagram:

From the similarity of triangles, a/b = (b + c)/d, so that d = b(b + c)/a. The quadrilateral on
the left is a kite with sides b and d and area 2bd/2 = bd. Adding to this the area of the small
triangle (ab/2) we obtain the area of the big triangle - (b + c)d/2:
bd + ab/2 = (b + c)d/2
which simplifies to
ab/2 = (c - b)d/2, or ab = (c - b)d.
Now using the formula for d:
ab = (c - b)d = (c - b)(c + b)b/a.
Dividing by b and multiplying by a gives a = c - b. This variant comes very close to Proof
#82, but with a different motivation.

Finally, the argument shows that the area of an annulus (ring) bounded by circles of radii b
and c > b; is exactly a where a = c - b. a is a half length of the tangent to the inner circle
enclosed within the outer circle.

Proof #44
The following proof related to #39, have been submitted by Adam Rose (Sept. 23, 2004.)

Start with two identical right triangles: ABC and AFE, A the intersection of BE and CF. Mark
D on AB and G on extension of AF, such that
BC = BD = FG (= EF).
(For further notations refer to the above diagram.) BCD is isosceles. Therefore, BCD =
/2 - /2. Since angle C is right,
ACD = /2 - (/2 - /2) = /2.
Since AFE is exterior to EFG, AFE = FEG + FGE. But EFG is also isosceles.
Thus
AGE = FGE = /2.
We now have two lines, CD and EG, crossed by CG with two alternate interior angles, ACD
and AGE, equal. Therefore, CD||EG. Triangles ACD and AGE are similar, and AD/AC =
AE/AG:
b/(c - a) = (c + a)/b,
and the Pythagorean theorem follows.

Proof #45
This proof is due to Douglas Rogers who came upon it in the course of his investigation into
the history of Chinese mathematics.
The proof is a variation on #33, #34, and #42. The proof proceeds in two steps. First, as it
may be observed from

a Liu Hui identity (see also Mathematics in China)

a + b = c + d,
where d is the diameter of the circle inscribed into a right triangle with sides a and b and
hypotenuse c. Based on that and rearranging the pieces in two ways supplies another proof
without words of the Pythagorean theorem:

Proof #46

This proof is due to Tao Tong (Mathematics Teacher, Feb., 1994, Reader Reflections). I
learned of it through the good services of Douglas Rogers who also brought to my attention
Proofs #47, #48 and #49. In spirit, the proof resembles the proof #32.

Let ABC and BED be equal right triangles, with E on AB. We are going to evaluate the area
of ABD in two ways:
Area(ABD) = BDAF/2 = DEAB/2.
Using the notations as indicated in the diagram we get c(c - x)/2 = bb/2. x = CF can be found
by noting the similarity (BD AC) of triangles BFC and ABC:
x = a/c.
The two formulas easily combine into the Pythagorean identity.

Proof #47
This proof which is due to a high school student John Kawamura was report by Chris Davis,
his geometry teacher at Head-Rouce School, Oakland, CA (Mathematics Teacher, Apr., 2005,
p. 518.)

The configuration is virtually identical to that of Proof #46, but this time we are interested in
the area of the quadrilateral ABCD. Both of its perpendicular diagonals have length c, so that
its area equals c/2. On the other hand,
c/2

= Area(ABCD)
= Area(BCD) + Area(ABD)
= aa/2 + bb/2

Multiplying by 2 yields the desired result.

Proof #48
(W. J. Dobbs, The Mathematical Gazette, 8 (1915-1916), p. 268.)

In the diagram, two right triangles - ABC and ADE - are equal and E is located on AB. As in
President Garfield's proof, we evaluate the area of a trapezoid ABCD in two ways:
Area(ABCD)

= Area(AECD) + Area(BCE)
= cc/2 + a(b - a)/2,

where, as in the proof #47, cc is the product of the two perpendicular diagonals of the
quadrilateral AECD. On the other hand,
Area(ABCD)

= AB(BC + AD)/2
= b(a + b)/2.

Combining the two we get c/2 = a/2 + b/2, or, after multiplication by 2, c = a + b.

Proof #49

In the previous proof we may proceed a little differently. Complete a square on sides AB and
AD of the two triangles. Its area is, on one hand, b and, on the other,
b

= Area(ABMD)
= Area(AECD) + Area(CMD) + Area(BCE)
= c/2 + b(b - a)/2 + a(b - a)/2
= c/2 + b/2 - a/2,

which amounts to the same identity as before.

Douglas Rogers who observed the relationship between the proofs 46-49 also remarked that a
square could have been drawn on the smaller legs of the two triangles if the second triangle is
drawn in the "bottom" position as in proofs 46 and 47. In this case, we will again evaluate the
area of the quadrilateral ABCD in two ways. With a reference to the second of the diagrams
above,
c/2

= Area(ABCD)
= Area(EBCG) + Area(CDG) + Area(AED)
= a + a(b - a)/2 + b(b - a)/2
= a/2 + b/2,

as was desired.
He also pointed out that it is possible to think of one of the right triangles as sliding from its
position in proof #46 to its position in proof #48 so that its short leg glides along the long leg
of the other triangle. At any intermediate position there is present a quadrilateral with equal
and perpendicular diagonals, so that for all positions it is possible to construct proofs
analogous to the above. The triangle always remains inside a square of side b - the length of
the long leg of the two triangles. Now, we can also imagine the triangle ABC slide inside that
square. Which leads to a proof that directly generalizes #49 and includes configurations of
proofs 46-48. See below.

Proof #50

The area of the big square KLMN is b. The square is split into 4 triangles and one
quadrilateral:
b = Area(KLMN)
= Area(AKF) + Area(FLC) + Area(CMD) + Area(DNA) + Area(AFCD)
= y(a+x)/2 + (b-a-x)(a+y)/2 + (b-a-y)(b-x)/2 + x(b-y)/2 + c/2
= [y(a+x) + b(a+y) - y(a+x) - x(b-y) - aa + (b-a-y)b + x(b-y) + c]/2
= [b(a+y) - aa + bb - (a+y)b + c]/2
= b/2 - a/2 + c/2.
It's not an interesting derivation, but it shows that, when confronted with a task of simplifying
algebraic expressions, multiplying through all terms as to remove all parentheses may not be
the best strategy. In this case, however, there is even a better strategy that avoids lengthy
computations altogether. On Douglas Rogers' suggestion, complete each of the four triangles
to an appropriate rectangle:

The four rectangles always cut off a square of size a, so that their total area is b - a. Thus we
can finish the proof as in the other proofs of this series:
b = c/2 + (b - a)/2.

Proof #51

(W. J. Dobbs, The Mathematical Gazette, 7 (1913-1914), p. 168.)

This one comes courtesy of Douglas Rogers from his extensive collection. As in Proof #2, the
triangle is rotated 90 degrees around one of its corners, such that the angle between the
hypotenuses in two positions is right. The resulting shape of area b is then dissected into two
right triangles with side lengths (c, c) and (b - a, a + b) and areas c/2 and (b - a)(a + b)/2 =
(b - a)/2:
b = c/2 + (b - a)/2.
J. Elliott adds a wrinkle to the proof by turning around one of the triangles:

Again, the area can be computed in two ways:

ab/2 + ab/2 + b(b - a) = c/2 + (b - a)(b + a)/2,
which reduces to
b = c/2 + (b - a)/2,
and ultimately to the Pythagorean identity.

Proof #52

This proof, discovered by a high school student, Jamie deLemos (The Mathematics Teacher,
88 (1995), p. 79.), has been quoted by Larry Hoehn (The Mathematics Teacher, 90 (1997),
pp. 438-441.)

On one hand, the area of the trapezoid equals

(2a + 2b)/2(a + b)
and on the other,
2ab/2 + 2ba/2 + 2c/2.
Equating the two gives a + b = c.
The proof is closely related to President Garfield's proof.

Proof #53
Larry Hoehn also published the following proof (The Mathematics Teacher, 88 (1995), p.
168.):

Extend the leg AC of the right triangle ABC to D so that AD = AB = c, as in the diagram. At
D draw a perpendicular to CD. At A draw a bisector of the angle BAD. Let the two lines meet
in E. Finally, let EF be perpendicular to CF.
By this construction, triangles ABE and ADE share side AE, have other two sides equal: AD
= AB, as well as the angles formed by those sides: BAE = DAE. Therefore, triangles
ABE and ADE are congruent by SAS. From here, angle ABE is right.
It then follows that in right triangles ABC and BEF angles ABC and EBF add up to 90. Thus
ABC = BEF and BAC = EBF.
The two triangles are similar, so that
x/a = u/b = y/c.
But, EF = CD, or x = b + c, which in combination with the above proportion gives
u = b(b + c)/a and y = c(b + c)/a.
On the other hand, y = u + a, which leads to
c(b + c)/a = b(b + c)/a + a,
which is easily simplified to c = a + b.

Proof #54k
Later (The Mathematics Teacher, 90 (1997), pp. 438-441.) Larry Hoehn took a second look at
his proof and produced a generic one, or rather a whole 1-parameter family of proofs, which,
for various values of the parameter, included his older proof as well as #41. Below I offer a
simplified variant inspired by Larry's work.

To reproduce the essential point of proof #53, i.e. having a right angled triangle ABE and
another BEF, the latter being similar to ABC, we may simply place BEF with sides ka, kb,

kc, for some k, as shown in the diagram. For the diagram to make sense we should restrict k
so that ka b. (This insures that D does not go below A.)
Now, the area of the rectangle CDEF can be computed directly as the product of its sides ka
and (kb + a), or as the sum of areas of triangles BEF, ABE, ABC, and ADE. Thus we get
ka(kb + a) = kakb/2 + kcc/2 + ab/2 + (kb + a)(ka - b)/2,
which after simplification reduces to
a = c/2 + a/2 - b/2,
which is just one step short of the Pythagorean proposition.
The proof works for any value of k satisfying k b/a. In particular, for k = b/a we get proof
#41. Further, k = (b + c)/a leads to proof #53. Of course, we would get the same result by
representing the area of the trapezoid AEFB in two ways. For k = 1, this would lead to
President Garfield's proof.
Obviously, dealing with a trapezoid is less restrictive and works for any positive value of k.

Proof #55
The following generalization of the Pythagorean theorem is due to W. J. Hazard (Am Math
Monthly, v 36, n 1, 1929, 32-34). The proof is a slight simplification of the published one.

Let parallelogram ABCD inscribed into parallelogram MNPQ is shown on the left. Draw
BK||MQ and AS||MN. Let the two intersect in Y. Then
Area(ABCD) = Area(QAYK) + Area(BNSY).
A reference to Proof #9 shows that this is a true generalization of the Pythagorean theorem.
The diagram of Proof #9 is obtained when both parallelograms become squares.
The proof proceeds in 4 steps. First, extend the lines as shown below.

Then, the first step is to note that parallelograms ABCD and ABFX have equal bases and
altitudes, hence equal areas (Euclid I.35 In fact, they are nicely equidecomposable.) For the
same reason, parallelograms ABFX and YBFW also have equal areas. This is step 2. On step
3 observe that parallelograms SNFW and DTSP have equal areas. (This is because
parallelograms DUCP and TENS are equal and points E, S, H are collinear. Euclid I.43 then
implies equal areas of parallelograms SNFW and DTSP) Finally, parallelograms DTSP and
QAYK are outright equal.
(There is a dynamic version of the proof.)

Proof #56
More than a hundred years ago The American Mathematical Monthly published a series of
short notes listing great many proofs of the Pythagorean theorem. The authors, B. F. Yanney
and J. A. Calderhead, went an extra mile counting and classifying proofs of various flavors.
This and the next proof which are numbers V and VI from their collection (Am Math
Monthly, v.3, n. 4 (1896), 110-113) give a sample of their thoroughness. Based on the
diagram below they counted as many as 4864 different proofs. I placed a sample of their
work on a separate page.

Proof #57

Treating the triangle a little differently, now extending its sides instead of crossing them, B. F.
Yanney and J. A. Calderhead came up with essentially the same diagram:

Following the method they employed in the previous proof, they again counted 4864 distinct
proofs of the Pythagorean proposition.

Proof #58
(B. F. Yanney and J. A. Calderhead, Am Math Monthly, v.3, n. 6/7 (1896), 169-171, #VII)

Let ABC be right angled at C. Produce BC making BD = AB. Join AD. From E, the midpoint
of CD, draw a perpendicular meeting AD at F. Join BF. ADC is similar to BFE. Hence.
AC/BE = CD/EF.
But CD = BD - BC = AB - BC. Using this
BE
BE

= BC + CD/2
= BC + (AB - BC)/2
= (AB + BC)/2

and EF = AC/2. So that

ACAC/2 = (AB - BC)(AB + BC)/2,
which of course leads to AB = AC + BC.
(As we've seen in proof 56, Yanney and Calderhead are fond of exploiting a configuration in
as many ways as possible. Concerning the diagram of the present proof, they note that
triangles BDF, BFE, and FDE are similar, which allows them to derive a multitude of
proportions between various elements of the configuration. They refer to their approach in

proof 56 to suggest that here too there are great many proofs based on the same diagram.
They leave the actual counting to the reader.)

Proof #59
(B. F. Yanney and J. A. Calderhead, Am Math Monthly, v.3, n. 12 (1896), 299-300, #XVII)

Let ABC be right angled at C and let BC = a be the shortest of the two legs. With C as a
center and a as a radius describe a circle. Let D be the intersection of AC with the circle, and
H the other one obtained by producing AC beyond C, E the intersection of AB with the circle.
Draw CL perpendicular to AB. L is the midpoint of BE.
By the Intersecting Chords theorem,
AHAD = ABAE.
In other words,
(b + a)(b - a) = c(c - 2BL).
Now, the right triangles ABC and BCL share an angle at B and are, therefore, similar,
wherefrom
BL/BC = BC/AB,
so that BL = a/c. Combining all together we see that
b - a = c(c - 2a/c)
and ultimately the Pythagorean identity.

Remark
Note that the proof fails for an isosceles right triangle. To accommodate this case, the authors
suggest to make use of the usual method of the theory of limits. I am not at all certain what is
the "usual method" that the authors had in mind. Perhaps, it is best to subject this case to
Socratic reasoning which is simple and does not require the theory of limits. If the case is
exceptional anyway, why not to treat it as such.

Proof #60
(B. F. Yanney and J. A. Calderhead, Am Math Monthly, v.3, n. 12 (1896), 299-300, #XVIII)

The idea is the same as before (proof #59), but now the circle has the radius b, the length of
the longer leg. Having the sides produced as in the diagram, we get
ABBK = BJBF,
or
cBK = (b - a)(b + a).
BK, which is AK - c, can be found from the similarity of triangles ABC and AKH: AK =
2b/c.
Note that, similar to the previous proof, this one, too, does not work in case of the isosceles
triangle.

Proof #61
(B. F. Yanney and J. A. Calderhead, Am Math Monthly, v.3, n. 12 (1896), 299-300, #XIX)

This is a third in the family of proofs that invoke the Intersecting Chords theorem. The radius
of the circle equals now the altitude from the right angle C. Unlike in the other two proofs,
there are now no exceptional cases. Referring to the diagram,

AD = AHAE = b - CD,
BD = BKBL = a - CD,
2ADBD = 2CD.
Adding the three yields the Pythagorean identity.

Proof #62
This proof, which is due to Floor van Lamoen, makes use of some of the many properties of
the symmedian point. First of all, it is known that in any triangle ABC the symmedian point
K has the barycentric coordinates proportional to the squares of the triangle's side lengths.
This implies a relationship between the areas of triangles ABK, BCK and ACK:
Area(BCK) : Area(ACK) : Area(ABK) = a : b : c.
Next, in a right triangle, the symmedian point is the midpoint of the altitude to the
hypotenuse. If, therefore, the angle at C is right and CH is the altitude (and also the
symmedian) in question, AK serves as a median of ACH and BK as a median of BCH.
Recollect now that a median cuts a triangle into two of equal areas. Thus,
Area(ACK) = Area(AKH) and
Area(BCK) = Area(BKH).
But
Area(ABK)

= Area(AKH) + Area(BKH)
= Area(ACK) + Area(BCK),

so that indeed kc = ka + kb, for some k > 0; and the Pythagorean identity follows.
Floor also suggested a different approach to exploiting the properties of the symmedian point.
Note that the symmedian point is the center of gravity of three weights on A, B and C of
magnitudes a, b and c respectively. In the right triangle, the foot of the altitude from C is
the center of gravity of the weights on B and C. The fact that the symmedian point is the
midpoint of this altitude now shows that a + b = c.

Proof #63
This is another proof by Floor van Lamoen; Floor has been led to the proof via Bottema's
theorem. However, the theorem is not actually needed to carry out the proof.

In the figure, M is the center of square ABA'B'. Triangle AB'C' is a rotation of triangle ABC.
So we see that B' lies on C'B''. Similarly, A' lies on A''C''. Both AA'' and BB'' equal a + b.
Thus the distance from M to A''C'' as well as to B'C' is equal to (a + b)/2. This gives
Area(AMB'C')

= Area(MAC') + Area(MB'C')
= (a + b)/2 b/2 + (a + b)/2 a/2
= a/4 + ab/2 + b/4.

But also:
Area(AMB'C')

= Area(AMB') + Area(AB'C')
= c/4 + ab/2.

This yields a/4 + b/4 = c/4 and the Pythagorean theorem.

The basic configuration has been exploited by B. F. Yanney and J. A. Calderhead (Am Math
Monthly, v.4, n 10, (1987), 250-251) to produce several proofs based on the following
diagrams

None of their proofs made use of the centrality of point M.

Proof #64
And yet one more proof by Floor van Lamoen; in a quintessentially mathematical spirit, this
time around Floor reduces the general statement to a particular case, that of a right isosceles
triangle. The latter has been treated by Socrates and is shown independently of the general
theorem.

FH divides the square ABCD of side a + b into two equal quadrilaterals, ABFH and CDHF.
The former consists of two equal triangles with area ab/2, and an isosceles right triangle with
area c/2. The latter is composed of two isosceles right triangles: one of area a/2, the other
b/2, and a right triangle whose area (by the introductory remark) equals ab! Removing equal
areas from the two quadrilaterals, we are left with the identity of areas: a/2 + b/2 = c/2.
The idea of Socrates' proof that the area of an isosceles right triangle with hypotenuse k
equals k/4, has been used before, albeit implicitly. For example, Loomis, #67 (with a
reference to the 1778 edition of E. Fourrey's Curiosities Geometrique [Loomis' spelling])
relies on the following diagram:

Triangle ABC is right at C, while ABD is right isosceles. (Point D is the midpoint of the
semicircle with diameter AB, so that CD is the bisector of the right angle ACB.) AA' and BB'
are perpendicular to CD, and AA'CE and BB'CF are squares; in particular EF CD.
Triangles AA'D and DB'B (having equal hypotenuses and complementary angles at D) are
congruent. It follows that AA' = B'D = A'C = CE = AE. And similar for the segments equal to
B'C. Further, CD = B'C + B'D = CF + CE = EF.
Area(ADBC)
Area(ADBC)
Area(ADBC)

= Area(ADC) + Area(DBC)
= CDAA'/2 + CDBB'/2
= CDEF/2.

On the other hand,

Area(ABFE)
Area(ADBC)
Area(ADBC)

= EF(AE + BF)/2
= CDAA'/2 + CDBB'/2
= CDEF/2.

Thus the two quadrilateral have the same area and ABC as the intersection. Removing
ABC we see that
Area(ADB) = Area(ACE) + Area(BCF).
The proof reduces to Socrates' case, as the latter identity is equivalent to c/4 = a/4 + b/4.
More recently, Bi Quang Tun came up with a different argument:

From the above, Area(BA'D) = Area(BB'C) and Area(AA'D) = Area(AB'C). Also,

Area(AA'B) = Area(AA'B'), for AA'||BB'. It thus follows that Area(ABD) = Area(AA'C) +
Area(BB'C), with the same consequences.

Proof #65
This and the following proof are also due to Floor van Lamoen. Both a based on the
following lemma, which appears to generalize the Pythagorean theorem: Form squares on the
sides of the orthodiagonal quadrilateral. The squares fall into two pairs of opposite squares.
Then the sum of the areas of the squares in two pairs are equal.

The proof is based on the friendly relationship between a triangle and its flank triangles: the
altitude of a triangle through the right angle extended beyond the vertex is the median of the
flank triangle at the right angle. With this in mind, note that the two parallelograms in the left

figure not only share the base but also have equal altitudes. Therefore they have equal areas.
Using shearing, we see that the squares at hand split into pairs of rectangles of equal areas,
which can be combined in two ways proving the lemma.
For the proof now imagine two adjacent vertices of the quadrilateral closing in towards the
point of intersection of the diagonals. In the limit, the quadrilateral will become a right
triangle and one of the squares shrink to a point. Of the remaining three squares two will add
up to the third.

Proof #66
(Floor van Lamoen). The lemma from Proof 65 can be used in a different way:

Let there be two squares: APBMc and C1McC2Q with a common vertex Mc. Rotation through
90 in the positive direction around Mc moves C1Mc into C2Mc and BMc into AMc. This
implies that BMcC1 rotates into AMcC2 so that AC2 and BC1 are orthogonal. Quadrilateral
ABC2C1 is thus orthodiagonal and the lemma applies: the red and blue squares add up to the
same area. The important point to note is that the sum of the areas of the original squares
APBMc and C1McC2Q is half this quantity.
Now assume the configurations is such that Mc coincides with the point of intersection of the
diagonals. Because of the resulting symmetry, the red squares are equal. Therefore, the areas
of APBMc and C1McC2Q add up to that of a red square!
(There is a dynamic illustration of this argument.)

Proof #67
This proof was sent to me by a 14 year old Sina Shiehyan from Sabzevar, Iran. The
circumcircle aside, the combination of triangles is exactly the same as in S. Brodie's subcase
of Euclid's VI.31. However, Brodie's approach if made explicit would require argument
different from the one employed by Sina. So, I believe that her derivation well qualifies as an
individual proof.

From the endpoints of the hypotenuse AB drop perpendiculars AP and BK to the tangent to
the circumcircle of ABC at point C. Since OC is also perpendicular to the tangent, C is the
midpoint of KP. It follows that
Area(ACP) + Area(BCK)

= CPAP/2 + CKBK/2
= [KP(AP + BK)/2]/2
= Area(ABKP)/2.

Therefore, Area(ABC) is also Area(ABKP)/2. So that

Area(ACP) + Area(BCK) = Area(ABC)
Now all three triangles are similar (as being right and having equal angles), their areas
therefore related as the squares of their hypotenuses, which are b, a, and c respectively. And
the theorem follows.
I have placed the original Sina's derivation on a separate page.

Proof #68
The Pythagorean theorem is a direct consequence of the Parallelogram Law. I am grateful to
Floor van Lamoen for bringing to my attention a proof without words for the latter. There is a
second proof which I love even better.

Proof #69
Several proofs that employ practically the same configuration

wonderfully exploit distinct tools to achieve the goal. This is a question of what one sees in
this diagram. Below are several variants that differ by a view point and, as such, lead to
different derivations.

I placed some of them in a separate page.

Proof #70

Extend the altitude CH to the hypotenuse to D: CD = AB and consider the area of the
orthodiagonal quadrilateral ACBD (similar to proofs 47-49.) On one hand, its area equals half
the product of its diagonals: c/2. On the other, it's the sum of areas of two triangles, ACD and
BCD. Drop the perpendiculars DE and DF to AC and BC. Rectangle CEDF is has sides equal
DE and DF equal to AC and BC, respectively, because for example CDE = ABC as both
are right, have equal hypotenuse and angles. It follows that

Area(CDA) = b and
Area(CDB) = a
so that indeed c/2 = a/2 + b/2.
This is proof 20 from Loomis' collection. In proof 29, CH is extended upwards to D so that
again CD = AB. Again the area of quadrilateral ACBD is evaluated in two ways in exactly
same manner.

Proof #71

Let D and E be points on the hypotenuse AB such that BD = BC and AE = AC. Let AD = x,
DE = y, BE = z. Then AC = x + y, BC = y + z, AB = x + y + z. The Pythagorean theorem is
then equivalent to the algebraic identity
(y + z) + (x + y) = (x + y + z).
Which simplifies to
y = 2xz.
To see that the latter is true calculate the power of point A with respect to circle B(C), i.e. the
circle centered at B and passing through C, in two ways: first, as the square of the tangent AC
and then as the product ADAL:
(x + y) = x(x + 2(y + z)),
which also simplifies to y = 2xz.
This is algebraic proof 101 from Loomis' collection. Its dynamic version is available
separately.

Proof #72

This is geometric proof #25 from E. S. Loomis' collection, for which he credits an earlier
publication by J. Versluys (1914). The proof is virtually self-explanatory and the addition of a
few lines shows a way of making it formal.
Michel Lasvergnas came up with an even more ransparent rearrangement (on the right
below):

These two are obtained from each other by rotating each of the squares 180 around its
center.
A dynamic version is also available.

Proof #73

This proof is by weininjieda from Yingkou, China who plans to become a teacher of
mathematics, Chinese and history. It was included as algebraic proof #50 in E. S. Loomis'
collection, for which he refers to an earlier publication by J. Versluys (1914), where the proof
is credited to Cecil Hawkins (1909) of England.
Let CE = BC = a, CD = AC = b, F is the intersection of DE and AB.
CED = ABC, hence DE = AB = c. Since, AC BD and BE AD, ED AB, as the third
altitude in ABD. Now from
Area(ABD) = Area(ABE) + Area(ACD) + Area(BCE)
we obtain

c(c + EF) = EFc + b + a,

which implies the Pythagorean identity.

Proof #74
The following proof by dissection is due to the 10th century Persian mathematician and
astronomer Abul Wafa (Abu'l-Wafa and also Abu al-Wafa) al-Buzjani. Two equal squares are
easily combined into a bigger square in a way known yet to Socrates. Abul Wafa method
works if the squares are different. The squares are placed to share a corner and two sidelines.
They are cut and reassembled as shown. The dissection of the big square is almost the same
as by Liu Hui. However, the smaller square is cut entirely differently. The decomposition of
the resulting square is practically the same as that in Proof #3.

A dynamic version is also available.

Proof #75
This an additional application of Heron's formula to proving the Pythagorean theorem.
Although it is much shorter than the first one, I placed it too in a separate file to facilitate the
comparison.
The idea is simple enough: Heron's formula applies to the isosceles triangle depicted in the
diagram below.

Proof #76
This is a geometric proof #27 from E. S. Loomis' collection. According to Loomis, he
received the proof in 1933 from J. Adams, The Hague. Loomis makes a remark pointing to
the uniqueness of this proof among other dissections in that all the lines are either parallel or
perpendicular to the sides of the given triangle. Which is strange as, say, proof #72
accomplishes they same feat and with fewer lines at that. Even more surprisingly the latter is
also included into E. S. Loomis' collection as the geometric proof #25.
Inexplicably Loomis makes a faulty introduction to the construction starting with the wrong
division of the hypotenuse. However, it is not difficult to surmise that the point that makes the
construction work is the foot of the right angle bisector.

A dynamic illustration is available on a separate page.

Proof #77
This proof is by the famous Dutch mathematician, astronomer and physicist Christiaan
Huygens (1629 - 1695) published in 1657. It was included in Loomis' collection as geometric
proof #31. As in Proof #69, the main instrument in the proof is Euclid's I.41: if a
parallelogram and a triangle that share the same base and are in the same parallels (I.41), the
area of the parallelogram is twice that of the triangle.

More specifically,
Area(ABML)
Area(KMLS)
Area(BCED)

= 2Area(ABP) = Area(ACFG), and

= 2Area(KPS), while
= 2Area(ANB).

Combining these with the fact that KPS = ANB, we immediately get the Pythagorean
proposition.
(A dynamic illustration is available on a separate page.)

Proof #78
This proof is by the distinguished Dutch mathematician E. W. Dijkstra (1930 - 2002). The
proof itself is, like Proof #18, a generalization of Proof #6 and is based on the same diagram.
Both proofs reduce to a variant of Euclid VI.31 for right triangles (with the right angle at C).
The proof aside, Dijkstra also found a remarkably fresh viewpoint on the essence of the
theorem itself:
If, in a triangle, angles , , lie opposite the sides of length a, b, c, then
sign( + - ) = sign(a + b - c),
where sign(t) is the signum function.

As in Proof #18, Dijkstra forms two triangles ACL and BCN similar to the base ABC:
BCN = CAB and
ACL = CBA
so that ACB = ALC = BNC. The details and a dynamic illustration are found in a
separate page.

Proof #79
There are several proofs on this page that make use of the Intersecting Chords theorem,
notably proofs ##59, 60, and 61, where the circle to whose chords the theorem applied had
the radius equal to the short leg of ABC, the long leg and the altitude from the right angle,
respectively. Loomis' book lists these among its collection of algebraic proofs along with
several others that derive the Pythagorean theorem by means of the Intersecting Chords
theorem applied to chords in a fanciful variety of circles added to ABC. Alexandre
Wajnberg from Unit de Recherches sur l'Enseignement des Mathmatiques, Universit Libre
de Bruxelles came up with a variant that appears to fill an omission in this series of proofs.
The construction also looks simpler and more natural than any listed by Loomis. What a
surprise!

For the details, see a separate page.

Proof #80
A proof based on the diagram below has been published in a letter to Mathematics Teacher (v.
87, n. 1, January 1994) by J. Grossman. The proof has been discovered by a pupil of his
David Houston, an eighth grader at the time.

I am grateful to Professor Grossman for bringing the proof to my attention. The proof and a
discussion appear in a separate page, but its essence is as follows.
Assume two copies of the right triangle with legs a and b and hypotenuse c are placed back to
back as shown in the left diagram. The isosceles triangle so formed has the area S = c sin() /
2. In the right diagram, two copies of the same triangle are joined at the right angle and
embedded into a rectangle with one side equal c. Each of the triangles has the area equal to

half the area of half the rectangle, implying that the areas of the remaining isosceles triangles
also add up to half the area of the rectangle, i.e., the area of the isosceles triangle in the left
diagram. The sum of the areas of the two smaller isosceles triangles equals
S

= a sin( - ) / 2 + b sin() / 2
= (a + b) sin() / 2,

for, sin( - ) = sin(). Since the two areas are equal and sin() 0, for a non-degenerate
triangle, a + b = c.
Is this a trigonometric proof?
Luc Gheysens from Flanders (Belgium) came up with a modification based on the following
diagram

The complete discussion can be found on a separate page.

Proof #81
Philip Voets, an 18 years old law student from Holland sent me a proof he found a few years
earlier. The proof is a combination of shearing employed in a number of other proofs and the
decomposition of a right triangle by the altitude from the right angle into two similar pieces
also used several times before. However, the accompanying diagram does not appear among
the many in Loomis' book.

Given ABC with the right angle at A, construct a square BCHI and shear it into the
parallelogram BCJK, with K on the extension of AB. Add IL perpendicular to AK. By the
construction,
Area(BCJK) = Area(BCHI) = c.
On the other hand, the area of the parallelogram BCJK equals the product of the base BK and
the altitude CA. In the right triangles BIK and BIL, BI = BC = c and IBL = ACB = ,
making the two respectively similar and equal to ABC. IKL is then also similar to ABC,
and we find BL = b and LK = a/b. So that
Area(BCJK)

= BK CA
= (b + a/b) b
= b + a.

We see that c = Area(BCJK) = a + b completing the proof.

Proof #82
This proof has been published in the American Mathematical Monthly (v. 116, n. 8, 2009,
October 2009, p. 687), with an Editor's note: Although this proof does not appear to be
widely known, it is a rediscovery of a proof that first appeared in print in [Loomis, pp. 2627]. The proof has been submitted by Sang Woo Ryoo, student, Carlisle High School,
Carlisle, PA.
Loomis takes credit for the proof, although Monthly's editor traces its origin to a 1896 paper
by B. F. Yanney and J. A. Calderhead (Monthly, v. 3, p. 65-67.)

Draw AD, the angle bisector of angle A, and DE perpendicular to AB. Let, as usual, AB = c,
BC = a, and AC = b. Let CD = DE = x. Then BD = a - x and BE = c - b. Triangles ABC and
DBE are similar, leading to x/(a - x) = b/c, or x = ab/(b + c). But also (c - b)/x = a/b, implying
c - b = ax/b = a/(b + c). Which leads to (c - b)(c + b) = a and the Pythagorean identity.

Proof #83
This proof is a slight modification of the proof sent to me by Jan Stevens from Chalmers
University of Technology and Gteborg University. The proof is actually of Dijkstra's
generalization and is based on the extension of the construction in proof #41.

+>

a + b > c.
The details can be found on a separate page.

Proof #84
Elisha Loomis, myself and no doubt many others believed and still believe that no
trigonometric proof of the Pythagorean theorem is possible. This belief stemmed from the
assumption that any such proof would rely on the most fundamental of trigonometric
identities sin + cos = 1 is nothing but a reformulation of the Pythagorean theorem proper.
Now, Jason Zimba showed that the theorem can be derived from the subtraction formulas for
sine and cosine without a recourse to sin + cos = 1. I happily admit to being in the wrong.
Jason Zimba's proof appears on a separate page.

Proof #85
Bi Quang Tun found a way to derive the Pythagorean Theorem from the Broken Chord
Theorem.

For the details, see a separate page.

Proof #86
Bi Quang Tun also showed a way to derive the Pythagorean Theorem from Bottema's
Theorem.

For the details, see a separate page.

Proof #87
John Molokach came up with a proof of the Pythagorean theorem based on the following
diagram:

If any proof deserves to be called algebraic this one does. For the details, see a separate page.

Proof #88
Stuart Anderson gave another derivation of the Pythagorean theorem from the Broken Chord
Theorem. The proof is illustrated by the inscribed (and a little distorted) Star of David:

For the details, see a separate page. The reasoning is about the same as in Proof #79 but
arrived at via the Broken Chord Theorem.

Proof #89
John Molokach, a devoted Pythagorean, found what he called a Parallelogram proof of the
theorem. It is based on the following diagram:

For the details, see a separate page.

Proof #90
John has also committed an unspeakable heresy by devising a proof based on solving a
differential equation. After a prolonged deliberation between Alexander Givental of Berkeley,
Wayne Bishop of California State University, John and me, it was decided that the proof
contains no vicious circle as was initially expected by every one.

For the details, see a separate page.

Proof #91
John Molokach also observed that the Pythagorean theorem follows from Gauss' Shoelace
Formula:

For the details, see a separate page.

Proof #92
A proof due to Gaetano Speranza is based on the following diagram

For the details and an interactive illustration, see a separate page.

Proof #93
Giorgio Ferrarese from University of Torino, Italy, has observed that Perigal's proof - praised
for the symmetry of the dissection of the square on the longer leg of a right triangle - admits
further symmetric treatment. His proof is based on the following diagram

For the details, see a separate page.

Proof #94
It so happens that the derivative of the right-hand of Heron's formula with respect to one of
the side length vanishes when the other two sides are perpendicular. Moreover, by equating
the derivative to zero one directly arrives at the Pythagorean formula.
The details could be found on a separate page.

Proof #95
A proof by Bi Quang Tun is based on the construction illustrated below:

The details could be found on a separate page.

Proof #96
John Molokach started with the following diagram

from which he derived two proofs. The details could be found on a separate page.

Proof #97
When I already began thinking that there won't be any essentially new proofs coming; to my
surprise, Edgardo Alandete from Colombia came up with a pretty basic, straightforward proof
by dissection. I add it as a "proof without words":

Edgardo had several views of his approach which he summarized in two pdf files: file #1 and
file #2

Proof #98
John Molokach came up with another proof, a proof without words based on the following
diagram:

For a short explanation, see a separate page.

John also managed to derive the theorem from an identity with binomial coefficients by
squaring the Maclaurin series of sine and cosine.

Proof #99
Daniel Hardisky has posted the following proof as a dissection puzzle. This is how I pass this
on:

You can print the graphics, cut the pieces, and try putting them together to form a bigger
square. The solution is on a separate page.

Proof #100
John Arioni has posted a proof where the Pythagorean identity emerges at the limit of a
convergent geometric series. Here's a hint:

The details can be found on a separate page.

Proof #101
This is actually a generalization of the Pythagorean theorem. It was posted by Dao Thanh Oai
(Vietnam).
Let CHc and BHb be two altitudes nn ABC.

Then
BC2=ABBHb + ACCHc.
The Pythagorean theorem is obtained when the angle at A is 90. I placed a simple proof into
a separate file.

Proof #102
This proof has been communicated to me by Marcelo Brafman (Israel). E. Loomis may have
probably characterized it as being of the algebraic variety but I have not found anything
similar in the whole of his book.
The proof is based on the following diagram:

You may want to figure out by yourself what is it about. An explanation can be found
elsewhere.

Proof #103
Tony Foster, III, submitted a number of proofs that made use of a property of trapezoids
which has been established in the proof of the Carpets Theorem.
One of the proofs, e.g., is based on the following diagram:

Importantly, the two blue triangle in the diagram have the same area. A little more details,
along with other proofs, can be found on a separate page.

Proof #104
Here's a proof by an elegant dissection due to A. G. Samosvat.

A dynamic illustration is available on a separate page.

Proof #105
Several times previously (proofs 22, 43, 71) the Pythagorean theorem has been derived from
the Power of a Point theorem. Here's another example of the power of that theorem devised
by Bi Quang Tun. Bi's approach is illustrated by the following diagram

A complete derivation can be found on a separate page.

Proof #106
Bi Quang Tun has discovered an elegant lemma from which one easily derives the
Pythagorean theorem:
A, B, C, D are concyclic points on a circle (O) and AC perpendicular with BD. Denote [X]
the area of shape X. Then \displaystyle\frac{[AED] + [BEC]}{2} = [AOB].

The proof of the lemma and the derivation of the Pythagorean theorem could be found on a
separate page.

Proof #107
Tran Quang Hung found an extention of the Pythagorean theorem:
In \Delta ABC, AD, BE, CF are the altitudes. Triangles BCX, CEY, and BFZ outside \Delta
ABC.

Denote [X] the area of shape X. Then [\Delta BCX]=[\Delta ACY]+[\Delta ABZ].
This is a true generalization of the Pythagorean theorem which is obtained when angle at A is
right. The proof of the statement could be found on a separate page.
Tran Quang Hung's construction has inspired two offshots: Proofs 107' and 107'':

Proof #107'
In acute \Delta ABC, AD, BE, CF are the altitudes, r an arbitrary real number. Outside \Delta
ABC draw line aa parallel to BC at distance rBC; line bb parallel to AC at distance yCE; line
cc parallel to AB at distance rBF. Let X\in aa, Y\in bb, Z\in cc.

Denote [X] the area of shape X. Then [\Delta BCX]=[\Delta ACY]+[\Delta ABZ].

Proof #107''
In acute \Delta ABC, AD, BE, CF are the altitudes. Construct squares BCX_{1}X_{2},
BFZZ_1, and CEYY_1 outside \Delta ABC. Let rectangles ABZ_{1}Z_2 and
ACY_{1}Y_{2} circumscribe the latter two.

Denote [X] the area of shape X. Then [BCX_{1}X_{2}]=[ACY_{1}Y_{2}]+

[ABZ_{1}Z_2].
The proof of the statement could be found on a separate page.

Proof #108
Another generalization by Tran Quang Hung is even more curious. It is illustrated by the
following diagram:

The proof of the statement could be found on a separate page.

Proofs #109-110
Nuno Luzia from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro came up with two proofs based on
the half-angle formulas
\displaystyle \cos\theta=\cos^2 \frac{\theta}{2}-\sin^2\frac{\theta}{2} and
\displaystyle \cos\theta=1-2\sin^2 \frac{\theta}{2}.
which he derives without invoking the Pythagorean theorem. Two more trigonometric proofs.
The etails are in a separate page.

Proofs #111
Nuno Luzia has also found a proof that make use of analytic geometry. In the diagram,

h is found as the length of the perpendicular bisector to the hypotenuse till its intersection
with the x-axis. The etails are in a separate page.

Proofs #112
John Molokach has derived the Pythagorean identity in the trigonomatric form by cleverly
manipulating the double argument formulas. The details can be found in a separate file.

Proofs #113
John also came up with a simple proof of the Pythagorean theorem based on the following
diagram:

A few details have been placed into a separate page.

Proofs #114
Bi Quang Tun, to obtain the Pythagorean theorem, computed the area of a specia
equilateral in two ways:

This is reminiscent of proofs 46, 47, 48, 49, 50. A simple derivation has been placed into a
separate page.

Proofs #115

The proof is by Nileon M. Dimalaluan, Jr. and is based on the following diagram

The details are in a separate file.

Proofs #116
Here's a proof without words from the latest Roger Nelsen's book. The proof is due to Nam
Go Heo.

Proofs #117
The proof is by Andrs Navas and is based on the following diagram

The details are in a separate file.

References
1. J. D. Birkhoff and R. Beatley, Basic Geometry, AMS Chelsea Pub, 2000
2. W. Dunham, The Mathematical Universe, John Wiley & Sons, NY, 1994.
3. W. Dunham, Journey through Genius, Penguin Books, 1991
4. H. Eves, Great Moments in Mathematics Before 1650, MAA, 1983
5. G. N. Frederickson, Dissections: Plane & Fancy, Cambridge University Press, 1997
6. G. N. Frederickson, Hinged Dissections: Swinging & Twisting, Cambridge University
Press, 2002
7. E. S. Loomis, The Pythagorean Proposition, NCTM, 1968
8. R. B. Nelsen, Proofs Without Words, MAA, 1993
9. R. B. Nelsen, Proofs Without Words II, MAA, 2000
10. R. B. Nelsen, Proofs Without Words III, MAA, 2016
11. J. A. Paulos, Beyond Numeracy, Vintage Books, 1992
12. T. Pappas, The Joy of Mathematics, Wide World Publishing, 1989
13. C. Pritchard, The Changing Shape of Geomtetry, Cambridge University Press, 2003
14. F. J. Swetz, From Five Fingers to Infinity, Open Court, 1996, third printing

On Internet

1. Pythagoras' Theorem, by Bill Casselman, The University of British Columbia.

2. Eric's Treasure Trove features more than 10 proofs
3. A proof of the Pythagorean Theorem by Liu Hui (third century AD)
An interesting page from which I borrowed Proof #28
Copyright 1996-2012 Alexander Bogomolny
CITE THIS PAGE AS:
A. Bogomolny, Pythagorean Theorem and its many proofs from Interactive Mathematics Miscellany and Puzzles
http://www.cut-the-knot.org/pythagoras/index.shtml, Accessed 29 April 2016