In any right triangle, where a and b are the lengths of the legs and c is the length of the hypotenuse, a2+b2=c2 He wants the height of the pole to be the same as the distance from the base of ...In any right triangle, where a and b are the lengths of the legs and c is the length of the hypotenuse, a2+b2=c2 He wants the height of the pole to be the same as the distance from the base of the pole to each stake. The distance from the base of the pole to either stake is the same as the height of the pole. Pythagorean Theorem In any right triangle, where a and b are the lengths of the legs, and c is the length of the hypothenuse, a2+b2=c2