Pythagorean Theorem

By jessicalang304
  • 2000 BCE

    The belief that

    the Pythagorean theorem was used 1000 years before Pythagoras was born.
  • Egyptian Middle Kingdom Berlin Papyrus 6619
    1800 BCE

    Egyptian Middle Kingdom Berlin Papyrus 6619

    includes a problem whose solution is the Pythagorean triple 6:8:10, but the problem does not mention a triangle.
  • 600 BCE

    In India, the Baudhayana Shulba Sutra

    contains a list of Pythagorean triples and a statement of the Pythagorean theorem.
  • Pythagoras was Born
    570 BCE

    Pythagoras was Born

  • 495 BCE

    The rule attributed to Pythagoras

    starts from an odd number and produces a triple with leg and hypotenuse differing by one unit.
  • 347 BCE

    The rule attributed to Plato

    starts from an even number and produces a triple with leg and hypotenuse differing by two units.
  • 300 BCE

    Around 300 BC, in Euclid's Elements

    the oldest extant axiomatic proof of the theorem is presented.
  • The Gougu theorem
    300 BCE

    The Gougu theorem

  • 202 BCE

    During the Han Dynasty

    Pythagorean triples appear in The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art
  • 245

    Some believe the theorem arose first in China

    where it is alternatively known as the "Shang Gao theorem" (商高定理)
  • Euclid's Proof
    500

    Euclid's Proof

    demonstrates that the area of the square on the hypotenuse is the sum of the areas of the other two squares.
  • The Pythagorean Theorem Today

    The Pythagorean Theorem Today

    The Pythagorean theorem describes a special relationship between the sides of a right triangle. Even the ancients knew of this relationship.