I Q Test

Ok then here we go. If you have a right angled triangle (i.e one with a 90 degree angle), The length of the hypotenus (the longest side) can be calculated as follows.

Let us use the example given in the question.

abc.gif
(not to scale!!!)

Side A is 6
Side B is 8.

If we assume that these form effectively an L shape, we need to bridge those points with a longer straight line (side C)

Pythagoras states that if you multiply side A by itself (6x6 = 36) and add it to side B multiplied by itself (8x8 =64) (36 x 64 = 100) then you get the square of the hypotenus (the longest side)

To then find out the length of side C, you need to do what is called a square root. This means finding the number that when you multiply it by itself (known as squaring it - the square root of 25 for instance is 5, for 16 it is 4) makes 100.

10x10 = 100 therefore the hypotenus or side C is 10.

As we have two cars going in opposite directions, we have two triangles facing each other so we need 2 of these side C added together.

10+10 = 20.

I hope this helps... :blink:
 
The 3-4-5 triangle, where the two sides meeting at the right angle measure 3 and 4 units, is the one used as the paragon of Pythagoras's Theorem:

The square on the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle is equal to the sum of the squares on the other two sides.

3 x 3 = 9
4 x 4 = 16

9+16 = 25

The square root of 25 is 5, so the diagonal (hypotenuse) measures 5.
 
BUT BUT BUT was it really his theorem???? :o :o :rolleyes:

There remains one small problem. The Egyptians used knotted ropes to measure the dimensions of their fields. Further evidence from the The Rhind papyrus confirms this. The papyrus, a scroll about 6 metres long and 1/3 of a metre wide, was written around 1650 BC by the scribe Ahmes who is copying a document which is 200 years older. This makes the original papyrus date from about 1850BC.

One of the Babylonian tablets (Plimpton 322) which is dated from between 1900 and 1600 BC contains answers to a problem containing Pythagorean triples, i.e. numbers a, b, c with a² + b² = c². It is said to be the oldest number theory document in existence.

BUT Pythagoras was not born until about 1200 years later! He could not, therefore, have discovered the theorem that bears his name. There is a theory that many great inventions were not invented by the people they are named after. This is Dye's Theory. For example, On June 15th, 2002, the US Congress officially recognized that the italian inventor Antonio Meucci is to be credited for the invention of the telephone, and not Alexander G. Bell, as previously claimed.
 
Even St Jude has given up on me, Brian! Chaps, it's terribly kind of you, but to be honest, maths is to me as Chaucer is to a dyslexic. Maybe worse, because I just don't 'see' how figures work.

I could do all the shapes, sizes, colours, even work out the one where you're reducing the numbers by two less each time, but perhaps I can best demonstrate my ability by saying that when required to draw (for homework) an 8" diameter circle using a compass, I used an 8" jamjar, circled it, and stuck the compass point in the middle. It kinda saved all that wobbling about with the instrument. I even got a remark from teecher along the sarky lines of "I don't know how you accomplished this, Jon, but it was not with the aid of your compass". Oh, go sit your face! :angry:
 
They're nice little cars, Brian, but they don't come in automatic...

Ermmm... believe it or not, I managed to get one right the other night (Radio Times)! I tend to treat the numbers as just shapes (which, of course, they ARE), and so they lose their power to frighten me. But, to be honest, Brian, numbers will never be as entrancing to me as letters. I much prefer to do six or more nonagrams and/or trackwords a night for puzzling fun. Trouble is, I've filled shedloads of paper doing them, and am running out of 9-letter words to play with. Donations gratefully received!
 
I come onto the forum for the first time in nearly a year only to find i have the same IQ as Phil...im going to uni, see you in 2008 :angry:
 
I knew there was a thread on this... not sure if this was the one I had in mind though.
 
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Wow a thread 8 years old and it seems Slim has actually dismatured.

Whatever happened to PDJ? He was always a barrel of laughs.
 
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