Final answer:
The equation a² + b² = c² corresponds to the Pythagorean Theorem in geometry, which is used to relate the sides of a right triangle and find unknown lengths when two sides are known.
Step-by-step explanation:
The equation a² + b² = c² represents the Pythagorean Theorem, which is a fundamental principle in geometry relating the lengths of the sides of a right triangle. The terms 'a' and 'b' refer to the lengths of the legs of the right triangle, and 'c' refers to the length of the hypotenuse. To find the length of the hypotenuse, you can rewrite the theorem as c = √(a² + b²).
The Pythagorean Theorem is used in various applications, such as calculating the straight-line distance between two points (when forming a right triangle), and to determine the length of a resultant vector when two vectors are at right angles to each other. For instance, the theorem can be applied to a situation where you know the lengths of two sides of a right triangle and need to find the length of the third side.