# What is the term used to describe this

When .5 and .5 combine additionally, you get one. You can say "they add to one".

When the sqr(2)/2 combines with another sqr(2)/2 in pythagoreans theory to get one, you can say they ____.

It's been bothering me that I can't have a word to describe this, because numbers that "add" in this way to have the unit vector length of one is important in vector math. I want to say they "add" to one, but they obviously don't add to one.

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I think about all you can say is, "when $\sqrt2/2$ and $\sqrt2/2$ combine according to $a\#b=\sqrt{a^2+b^2}$, they combine to give $1$." You could make up a word: $\sqrt2/2$ and $\sqrt2/2$ hypotenize to $1$, or $\sqrt2/2$ and $\sqrt2/2$ pythagorize to $1$. But, please, don't. –  Gerry Myerson Mar 11 '13 at 6:26

How about: They sum to $\sqrt 2$?$\quad\quad\quad$

Or they "add up to $\sqrt 2$."?

...if you mean to refer to $\dfrac{\sqrt 2}{2} + \dfrac{\sqrt 2}{2}$.

...Or "the sum of their squares adds up to $1$" (since this relates to Pythagorean Theorem, which you mention)?

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the sum of their squares add to 1, that sounds better but not what I am hoping for. Suppose it's not root two over two but it's some arbitrary values and I want to describe the process that obtains the length of their vector if they were combined to be a vector. Like the word "vectorize" but I doubt that is it. –  Dan Webster Mar 11 '13 at 5:54
It would depend, I think, on the operations involved. –  amWhy Mar 11 '13 at 5:56

are components of unit vector.

The main thing is that their sum is a vector sum, and they are cartesian components of that vector ( that happen to add up to one ).

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Vector sum seems good enough I guess, was hoping for some special word I was not aware of, but I'll choose this as the answer, and plus one –  Dan Webster Mar 11 '13 at 6:54
On second thought, vector sum has the meaning of literally adding vectors so I can't use that :( –  Dan Webster Mar 11 '13 at 21:10

You might say "they add to 1 in quadrature," although it'd be a bit nonstandard.

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