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G.1.2.3- The Pythagorean Theorem

Historical Account:
Pythagoras, the namesake and supposed discoverer of the Pythagorean Theorem, was born on the Greek island of Samos in the early in the late 6th century.   Not much is known about his early years of life, however, we do know that Pythagoras traveled through Egypt in the attempt to learn more about mathematics.
Besides his famous theorem, Pythagoras gained fame for founding a group, the Brotherhood of Pythagoreans, which was dedicated solely to study of mathematics and worship of numbers.   Pythagoras passed on his belied that numbers are in fact the true "rulers of the universe".
While studying in Egypt, it is believed that Pythagoras studied with people known as the "rope-stretchers", the same people who engineered the pyramids. By using   a special form of a rope tied in a circle with 12 evenly spaced knots, they discovered that if the rope was pegged to the ground in the dimensions of 3-4-5, the rope would create a right triangle.   The rope stretchers used this principle to help accurately lay the foundations of for their buildings.
It was this fascination with the rope stretchers 3-4-5 triangle that ultimately led to the discovery of the Pythagorean theorem. While experimenting with this concept by drawing in the sand, Pythagoras found that if a square is drawn from each side of the 3-4-5 triangle, the area of the two smaller squares could be added together and equal the area of the large square.

  

3²+4²=5²
9 + 16 = 25
(image of proof barrowed from http://www.themathlab.com/pythagor.htm)
When he examined right triangles with different measurements he found that the this theory still held true.   He revealed this idea to his followers and the brotherhood assigned the general terms of a & b for the shorter legs and c for the longer side which they gave the name "hypotenuse". Thus we have the what is now know as the Pythagorean Theorem: a² + b² = c² .
Although he is credited with the discovery of the famous theorem,...