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ERIC Number: EJ875472
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
Reference Count: 0
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0740-8404
Density of Primitive Pythagorean Triples
Killen, Duncan A.
AMATYC Review, v26 n1 p3-11 Fall 2004
Based on the properties of a Primitive Pythagorean Triple (PPT), a computer program was written to generate, print, and count all PPTs greater than or equal to I[subscript x], where I[subscript x] is an arbitrarily chosen integer. The Density of Primitive Pythagorean Triples may be defined as the ratio of the number of PPTs whose hypotenuse is less than or equal to I[subscript x], to I[subscript x] (PPTs/I[subscript x]. The PPT Density for all PPTs with a primitive hypotenuse less than or equal to I[subscript x], remains rather stable, even as I[subscript x] is increased from 5 to 1,000,000. Using a TI-83 calculator, a linear regression correlation between the number of PPTs and the value of Ix, using 36 data points distributed between I[subscript x] = 1,000 and I[subscript x] = 1,000,000 was determined and the results are as shown: Number of PPTs = (0.1591543612)I[subscript x] - 0.726456424; r = 0.999999992.
American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges. 5983 Macon Cove, Memphis, TN 38134. Tel: 901-333-4643; Fax: 901-333-4651; e-mail: amatyc@amatyc.org; Web site: http://www.amatyc.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Two Year Colleges
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers: N/A