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Hypotenuse

From AoPSWiki

The hypotenuse of a right triangle is the side opposite the right angle. It is also the longest side of the triangle.

By the Pythagorean theorem, the length of the hypotenuse of a triangle with legs of length a and b is \sqrt{a^2 + b^2}.

For any right triangle, the hypotenuse is a diameter of the circumcircle. It follows that the midpoint of the hypotenuse of the triangle is the center of the circle. The converse also holds: if the length of the median of \triangle ABC from C is the same as \frac12 AB, then \triangle ABC is a right triangle with its right angle at C.

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