In the diagram below, all four right triangles are congruent and the interior quadrilateral is a square.

When written in the correct order, the paragraph below proves the Pythagorean Theorem using the diagram.

Let a represent the height and b represent the base of each triangle.
The area of one triangle is represented by the expression 1/2 ab.
The area of all four triangles will be represented by 4 • 1/2ab or 2ab.
(1) The area of the exterior square is found by squaring side c, which is c^2, or by adding the areas of the four interior triangles and interior square, 2ab + a^2 – 2a

Question

In the diagram below, all four right triangles are congruent and the interior quadrilateral is a square. 



When written in the correct order, the paragraph below proves the Pythagorean Theorem using the diagram.

Let a represent the height and b represent the base of each triangle.
The area of one triangle is represented by the expression 1/2 ab.
The area of all four triangles will be represented by 4 • 1/2ab or 2ab.
(1) The area of the exterior square is found by squaring side c, which is c^2, or by adding the areas of the four interior triangles and interior square, 2ab + a^2 – 2a