Using the Pythagorean Theorem throughout High School The Pythagorean theorem states that the sum of the

squares of the lengths of the two other sides of any right triangle will equal the square of the length of the hypotenuse. You may have seen it written like this:
a2 + b2 = c2

Where c is the hypotenuse and a and b are the other two sides. The Pythagorean theorem is one of the most important discoveries in Math and as you might imagine its also important for you to know it because it is part of the curriculum in Integrated Algebra, Geometry and Algebra II/Trigonometry. So, lets briefly go over the Pythagorean theorem and then Ill show you how it comes up in the other courses. Example: Find the length of AB. Since AC is our hypotenuse we must label it c. We can label the other two sides a and b. (As long as you label the hypotenuse c It doesnt matter which of the other two sides you label a or b.

c a

a2 + b2 = c2 a 2 + 8 2 = 10 2 a 2 + 64 = 100
a 2 + 64 = 100 64 64

Pythagorean Theorem Substitute Simplify Additive inverse to solve for a Square root both sides

a 2 = 36

a 2 = 36 a =6

So how does the Pythagorean theorem come up in other courses? Well, in Geometry you can be asked to prove if a triangle is a right triangle or to prove a triangle is not a right triangle. The Pythagorean theorem is useful here because you can substitute the measurements of a triangle into Pythagorean theorem and see if Pythagorean theorem is satisfied or unsatisfied. LOOK:

Which set of numbers does not represent the sides of a right triangle? 1) 2) 3) 4)

In AlgebraII/Trigonometry the Pythagorean theorem comes in handy in many ways but here is one example:
In the diagram below of right triangle JTM, , , and .

What is the value of 1) 2) 2 3) 4)

For this example you will need to use Pythagorean theorem to find side MT, since
cot = adj opp

So you see, the Pythagorean theorem is an important discovery and for us its especially important to master it since its something that we will use throughout our curriculums.