Chapter 3

Pythagoras’ theorem
UNIT 1: Naming the hypotenuse of a right-angled
triangle


Question 1 Name the hypotenuse of each right-angled triangle.

B
a b
F d E c H
g
c i I
a e f
h
A b C

D
G

d K L e
M f P

J O N

R

Question 2 Name the hypotenuse of each named triangle.

B
a E
b F c J K

I
A C
L
H G
D
∆ABC ∆EFI ∆JKL
N M

d P Q e
A B f X

T E
V Y

∆PTQ D C ∆ABC ∆VUZ

R U Z
S

Question 3 Complete the following statements. B

a is the length of the hypotenuse.
b is the length of the side opposite ∠A c a
c is the length of the side opposite ∠B
d is the length of the side opposite ∠C A b C
e is the area of the square on the side opposite ∠A
f is the area of the square on the side opposite ∠B
g is the area of the square on the side opposite ∠C
h is the name given to the longest side of ∆ABC

Chapter 3: Pythagoras’ theorem 31

Pythagoras’ theorem
UNIT 2: Naming the sides of a right-angled triangle
Question 1 C
 omplete the table below for each of the following triangles and verify that the square
of the hyotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.
A
a 12 C B
b c
C d A

10 24 34
15
16 9 16
20 A
26 B
A 12 C C 30 B
B

C 3 A 20 C A 6 C
e f
C
A g h
12
5
4 15 10 8
25 A
5
13 B
B B
B

40 C A A B 18 82
i j C
B k l B
17 18
8 9 24
41 30 80
C
A 15 C A B

a b c a2 b2 c2 a2 + b2
a

32
Pythagoras’ theorem
UNIT 3: Selecting the correct Pythagoras’ rule
Question 1 Choose the correct expression of Pythagoras’ theorem for each triangle.
B Y

a A a = b + c2

2 2

C b A y2 = a2 + z2

B b2 = a2 + c2
B z2 = a2 + y2

C c2 = a2 + b2
C a2 = y2 + z2
Z A
A
D C
c A d =e +f

2 2 2
 
D d A b2 = c2 + d 2
 

B e2 = d 2 + f 2
    B c2 = b2 + d 2
 

C f 2 = d 2 + e2
 

E F C d2 = b2 + c2

B
e A g2 = h2 + i 2 I f A e 2 = f 2 + g2
G
   

B h =g +i

2 2
 
2
H B f = e + g

2
 
2 2

C i 2 = g2 + h2
 

G C g2 = e2 + f 2
 

E F

g A j 2 = k2 + l 2 L K h A h2 = i 2 + j 2
H I
       

B k2 = j 2 + l 2
    B i 2 = h2 + j 2
   

C l 2 = j 2 + k2
   
J C j 2 = h2 + i 2
   

N J

i A m2 = n2 + o2
j A k2 = l 2 + m2
 
M

B n2 = m2 + o2
B l 2 = k2 + m2
 

C o2 = m2 + n2 C m2 = k2 + l 2 K
 

L
M O
k A p =q +r

2 2 2

R l A n2 = o2 + p2

O

B q2 = p2 + r2
B o2 = n2 + p2

P N
C r 2 = p2 + q2

Q C p2 = n2 + o2

P
U T
m A s2 = t2 + u2
n A q2 = r2 + s2

S
B t2 = s2 + u2
B r 2 = q2 + s2

C u2 = s2 + t2 C s2 = q2 + r2
Q R

S
o A v2 = w2 + x2 p A u2 = v2 + t2 U
X W

B w2 = v2 + x2
B v2 = u2 + t2

C x2 = v2 + w2 C t2 = u2 + v2
V T V

Chapter 3: Pythagoras’ theorem 33

Pythagoras’ theorem
UNIT 4: Squares and square roots
Question 1 Use your calculator, if necessary, to find the following squares.
a 5 =
2
b 152 =
c 282 =

d 312 =
e 922 = f 92 =

g 562 = h 72 =
i 612 =

j 322 = k 852 =
l 782 =

Question 2 Find the following.

a 4= b 1= c 9=

d 16 = e 49 = f 64 =

g 25 = h 81 = i 100 =

j 144 = k 36 = l 121 =

Question 3 Use your calculator to find the value of x given that x > 0.
a x = 784
2
b x2 = 289
c x2 = 1369

d x2 = 169
e x2 = 196 f x2 = 2401

g x2 = 441 h x2 = 1156
i x2 = 324

j x2 = 256 k x2 = 225
l x2 = 3969

Question 4 Calculate the following.

a (1.3) =
2
b (5.6)2 =
c (7.9)2 =

d (5.2)2 =
e (6.7)2 = f (8.35)2 =

g (8.3)2 = h (8.32)2 =
i (11.25)2 =

j (9.7)2 = k (5.41)2 =
l (22.2)2 =

Question 5 Use the calculator square key to find the following squares.
a (5.61) = 2
b (3.2)2 =
c (6.31)2 =

d (7.8)2 =
e (5.3)2 = f (13.5)2 =

g (5.9)2 = h (6.8)2 =
i (15.2)2 =

j (6.7)2 = k (9.2)2 =
l (8.95)2 =

Question 6 Find these square roots correct to 1 decimal place.

a 5.4 = b 6.58 = c 52.7 =

d 8.1 = e 3.25 = f 93.8 =

g 7.69 = h 6.75 = i 62.1 =

j 8.23 = k 8.123 = l 73.8 =

34
Pythagoras’ theorem
UNIT 5: Finding the length of the hypotenuse
Question 1 F ind the length of the hypotenuse in each of the following triangles.
All measurements are in centimetres. 6
a 4 b x c
5

8 x
3 x
12

10
d e f 24
8 15 7

x 24 x
x

Question 2 F ind the length of the hypotenuse correct to 1 decimal place.

All measurements are in centimetres.
5.3 3.1
a b c
x

8.5
8.2 x
x 6.4
11.1

d e

5.3 f 15.7
x 2.5 10.3
4.8

x x
7.3

g x h
7.9 i

x
5.9
6.4 8.7 x 3.2

4.1

Chapter 3: Pythagoras’ theorem 35

Pythagoras’ theorem
UNIT 6: Finding the length of a side
Question 1 F ind the length of the unknown side in each of the following triangles.
All measurements are in centimetres.
x
a b
c

x
10 7
8 15 17
25
x

d e f

x 3 41 17
x 8

5 40 x

Question 2  Find the length of the unknown side correct to 2 decimal places.
All measurements are in centimetres.
a b 3.2 c
3.5 x

14.8
5.1

10.5 12.8 x

2.3

x
d 18.6 e f
x

4.9
x 11.5
8.7
6.7

3.2
g h i
x x

12.1
10.6 12.5
12.8 23.4

36
Pythagoras’ theorem
UNIT 7: Miscellaneous questions
Question 1 Find the length of the hypotenuse.
12 cm
a b
c

4 3 xm
2.8 m
35 cm x cm
x 19.5 m

Question 2 Find the length of the side x.

a b xm c 17 cm
20 x

10 m
26 m 15 cm x cm
16

Question 3 Find the length of the unknown side, giving the answer correct to one decimal place.
a 12 cm b 9m c
11 km

3 km
8m xm
5 cm x cm
x km

4
d e 12.9 f 15.3
5.8

4.5
x
15
x x

Chapter 3: Pythagoras’ theorem 37

Pythagoras’ theorem
UNIT 8: Mixed questions on Pythagoras’ theorem
Question 1 I n each of the following triangles find the length of the unknown side.
All measurements are in centimetres.
8 x
a
b c
3

4
4 x
17 15
x
11

d
e f
x

40
24 25 x 6
41
x 12

Question 2 F ind the length of the unknown sides correct to one decimal place.
All measurements are in centimetres.
a
b y c
20 x

6 x
x 7
25 3
8 7

d
e f 5
15

x 3.5 x x
6
8.3 24

38
Pythagoras’ theorem
UNIT 9: Pythagorean triads
Question 1 Which of the following are Pythagorean triads?
a {2, 4, 5} b {7, 12, 13}
c {4, 12, 13}

d {8, 10, 12}

e {3, 4, 5} f {6, 8, 10}

g {5, 12, 13} h {8, 13, 17} i {8, 15, 17}

j {7, 24, 25} k {9, 40, 41} l {16, 30, 34}

Question 2 Prove that the following triangles are right-angled triangles.

a 17 b c
5 41

3 9
8 15
4 40

d
7 e
f 60
12 5
24
11
25 61
13

Question 3 Determine whether the triangle is right-angled or not.

a
99 m 92 cm
b c 233 mm

20 m 135 cm
101 m 105 mm 208 mm
153 cm

Chapter 3: Pythagoras’ theorem 39

Pythagoras’ theorem
UNIT 10: Applications of Pythagoras’ theorem
Question 1 Find the length of the diagonal (to 1 decimal place) of:
a a square of side length 5 cm b a rectangle 28 cm long and 9 cm wide

Question 2 T
 he radius of the base of a cone is 4.2 m and its slant height is 8 m. Find the height of
the cone correct to one decimal place.

8m
h

4.2 m

Question 3 Find the length of the third side of a right-angled triangle, (to one decimal place), if the:
a longest side is 49 cm, other side is 12 cm
b hypotenuse is 45 cm, other side is 16 cm

Question 4 W
 hat is the altitude of an equilateral triangle where sides are each 12 cm
(answer correct to 2 decimal places).

Question 5 Find the perimeter of this block of land.

60 m
45 m

32 m
54 m

36 m

40
Pythagoras’ theorem
UNIT 11: Problem solving
Question 1 A
 5 metre ladder has its foot 2 metres from the foot of a wall. How far up the wall does
the ladder reach (give the answer to the nearest cm)?

5m

2m
Question 2 T
 wo roads are at right angles to each other. Person A walks 8 km on one road and
person B walks 15 km on the other road. How far apart are A and B?

Question 3 A
 6 metre ladder rests against a wall and its foot is 3 metres away from the base of the
wall. How high does the ladder reach up the wall (answer correct to 2 decimal places)?

Question 4 C
 arlo is building a rectangular gate from steel pipe. The gate is 4.2 m long and 1.2 m
high. In order to brace the gate, Carlo wants to add a centre brace and two diagonal
braces as shown in the diagram. He has 6 m of pipe left. It this enough for the bracing
he wants to do? Justify your answer.

1.2 m

4.2 m

Question 5 T
 wo flag posts are 9 m and 12.5 m long and 24 m apart. Find the length of the string
needed to join the tops of the two posts.

9m 12.5 m

24 m

Chapter 3: Pythagoras’ theorem 41

Pythagoras’ theorem
TOPIC TEST PART A
Instructions • This part consists of 10 multiple-choice questions.

• Fill in only ONE CIRCLE for each question.

• Each question is worth 1 mark.

Time allowed: 10 minutes  Total marks: 10

Marks

1
5 is closest to

A 2

B 2.2

C 2.23

D 2.24 1

2 Which of the following is not a Pythagorean triad?

A {12, 35, 37}

B {11, 60, 61}

C {9, 40, 41}

D {13, 44, 45} 1

3 The Pythagorean result for a triangle ABC with hypotenuse BC is

A a = b + c
2 2 2

B b = a + c
2 2 2

C a = c – b
2 2 2

D c = b + a
2 2 2
1

4 If two sides of a right-angled triangle are 7 cm and 24 cm, then the hypotenuse is
A 23 cm

B 24 cm

C 25 cm

D 31 cm 1

5 Which one of the following triads determines a right-angled triangle?

A {8, 9, 12}

B {11, 10, 15}

C {9, 11, 20}

D {16, 30, 34} 1

6 Find the area of a rectangle which has a diagonal 10 cm long and one side 6 cm long.
A 40 cm 2

B 48 cm 2

C 60 cm 2

D 80 cm 2
1

7 Given that c2 = a2 + b2 and a = 10 and b = 24 and c > 0, what is the value of c?

A 26

B 28

C 576

D 676 1

8 The hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle is 17 cm. If one side is 8 cm, the third side is
A 9 cm

B 11 cm

C 13 cm

D 15 cm 1

9 Which of the following is a Pythagorean triad?

A {48, 53, 71}

B {48, 55, 73}

C {48, 57, 77}

D {48, 59, 75} 1

10 The two shorter sides of a right-angled triangle have lengths 12 cm and 5 cm. What is the

square of the length of the hypotenuse?

A 13

B 119

C 169

D 289 1

Total marks achieved for PART A

10

42
 Pythagoras’ theorem
TOPIC TEST PART B
Time allowed: 20 minutes Total marks: 15
Marks
A 1
1 If a2 = 4761 and a > 0, find the value of a
445 mm

203 mm
1
2 Is ∆ABC a right-angled triangle? B 396 mm C

3 Find the value of x, to one decimal place if necessary.

a b c

x cm 37 cm
8 cm x cm 35 cm

14 cm

10 cm 48 cm x cm

3
11 m

xm
d e x cm 12 m f
5m

6m
xm
10 m 13 m

x mm
g xc
m h xm
i
cm

19 m 440 mm
10

24 cm 7m 521 mm
17 m 325 mm

4 7m ym 5

xm ym xm
7.2 m

4.2 m 10.5 m 5.6 m 13.9 m

a Find x a Find x

b Find y
b Find y

Total marks achieved for PART B

15

Chapter 3: Pythagoras’ theorem 43

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