How to generate all integral triangles containing a given angle. (Q5926161)

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scientific article; zbMATH DE number 1570676
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    How to generate all integral triangles containing a given angle.
    scientific article; zbMATH DE number 1570676

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      How to generate all integral triangles containing a given angle. (English)
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      2000
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      Summary: We present an elementary prescription based on the rational secant method for generating all the integral triangles containing a given angle of rational cosine. This is a direct generalization of the ancient problem of finding all the Pythagorean triples. As an example, we discuss a specific equation studied by Diophantus of Alexandria, which turns out to be equivalent to the problem of finding all the integral triangles containing a \(60^\circ\) angle. The material developed here is elementary enough for inclusion in undergraduate courses and advanced high school courses.
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      Pythagorean triples
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      integral triangles
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      quadratic Diophantine equations
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      rational secant method
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      law of cosine
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