Students of St. Mary’s Academy say their approach to a formula that has been around for 2,000 years is novel. At a recent conference, two high school students from New Orleans raised some eyebrows among mathematicians.
The St. Mary’s Academy pupils are presenting a fresh perspective on a formula that dates back two thousand years.
Numerous calculations, including those for buildings and GPS locations, are made using the theorem. The students claimed they had uncovered these four new arguments by utilising trigonometry, even though there are supposedly more than 350 pieces of evidence to support its validity.
The Pythagorean theorem, which states that the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the legs of a right triangle (a2 + b2 = c2), has just received four more fresh proofs, according to Calcea Johnson and Ne’kiya Jackson.
The theorem is used to calculate all sorts of things, from construction to GPS coordinates. While there are reportedly more than 350 proofs to show why it works, the students said they have discovered these four new proofs by using trigonometry.
The two 17-year-old students said their presentation at the American Mathematical Society Southeastern Regional Conference in Atlanta got a lot of attention and a high level of interest from a group more geared toward collegiate and professional mathematicians.
“I saw a bunch of people writing down stuff and pulling up things on their computers. And they connected with this,” Johnson said.
Catherine Roberts, the executive director of the American Mathematical Society, said the organization is thrilled to have young people with such a deep interest in math research.
“We got a lot of congratulations,” Jackson said. “Some people started recording.”
Roberts said she has encouraged the students to submit their work for peer review.
