Each triple is the lengths of the three sides of a right-angled triangle, where each side is a whole number. The simplest example is (3, 4, 5); others include (5, 12, 13) and (8, 15, 17).

A right-angled triangle is like half a rectangle. So to calculate the area of a triangle, you can work out the area of the rectangle and then divide by 2.

A classic Pythagorean triple, 3-4-5. To solve for a hypotenuse (the longest side), you must start with a right triangle, which contains a 90-degree angle. From there, you square the length of each ...