Pythagorean Theorem

Example

Picture of my sisters, sister-in-laws and I.

My Object…

Measurements

7 inches

8 inches

Assumed right angle

10.6 inches

a2 + b2 = c2

72 + 82 = c2

49 + 64 = c2

113 = c2

= c about 10.6

Pythagorean TheoremDoes it work?

√113b

a

c

This is about 10.6 inches. Yes, the Pythagorean Theorem works!

7

8

√113

I chose the picture of my sisters and I for this project because it is one of my favorites. I love spending time with my family and if I had to do this project I figured I should think about my favorite people while I’m doing it. The lengths of the legs of my photo frame were 7 inches and 8 inches. I substituted 7 in for “a” and 8 in for “b” in the Pythagorean Theorem formula. 7 squared is 49 and 8 squared is 64. Their sum is 113. I tried to square root 113 but it is an irrational number which means that it won’t be a whole number answer. An estimate of the square root of 113 is about 10.6. This is the length that I obtained when I measured it with my ruler. This means that the Pythagorean Theorem works for right triangles or objects that have a right angle and a diagonal that is drawn or added to it.

Paragraph Explanation