Hypotenuse (from Greek ὑποτείνουσα – stretched) is the longest side of a right triangle and is opposite the right angle. It connects the ends of the two catheti and is the side opposite the right angle.
It is denoted by the letter “c”.
To find the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle, the Pythagorean theorem is used, which states that the square of the hypotenuse’s length is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the catheti:
where “c” is the length of the hypotenuse, “a” and “b” are the lengths of the catheti.
To find the length of the hypotenuse, it is necessary to take the square root of both sides of the equation:
Thus, the length of the hypotenuse can be found if the lengths of both catheti are known.