In ancient China, right-angled triangles were called Pythagorean Theorem, the smaller right-angled side was a hook, the other longer right-angled side was a chord, and the hypotenuse was a chord, so this theorem was called Pythagorean Theorem, and some people called it quotient height theorem.
There are about 500 ways to prove Pythagorean theorem, and Pythagorean theorem is one of the most proven theorems in mathematics. Pythagorean theorem is one of the important mathematical theorems discovered and proved by human beings in the early days. It is one of the most important tools to solve geometric problems with algebraic ideas, and it is also one of the ties of the combination of numbers and shapes.
In China, Shang Gao of the Zhou Dynasty put forward a special case of Pythagorean Theorem "Hook three strands, four chords and five". In the west, the Pythagorean school of ancient Greece in the 6th century BC first proposed and proved this theorem. They proved by deduction that the square of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of two right angles.
Significance of Pythagorean Theorem:
1. The proof of Pythagorean theorem is the beginning of proving geometry.
2. Pythagorean theorem is the first theorem in history that connects numbers with shapes, that is, the first theorem that connects geometry with algebra.
3. Pythagorean theorem led to the discovery of irrational numbers and the first mathematical crisis, which greatly deepened people's understanding of logarithms.
4. Pythagorean theorem is the first indefinite equation in history to give a complete solution, which leads to Fermat's last theorem.
5. Pythagorean theorem is the basic theorem of Euclidean geometry and has great practical value. This theorem is not only a dazzling pearl in geometry, but also widely used in advanced mathematics and other scientific fields.
1971May 15, Nicaragua issued a set of stamps entitled "Ten Mathematical Formulas for Changing the World". These ten mathematical formulas are all selected by famous mathematicians, and Pythagorean theorem is the first one.