Card 13
You’ve made it to the control room safely. Things don’t look good. The
room is lit up by red, flashing warning lights. A few panels are on with
emergency power but most are dark. Your radio regains signal: “At last! Your
orbit is decaying rapidly. We’re predicting an impact somewhere in western
Europe. You’ve got to turn on the boosters from the pilot’s panel, but…” The
signal has cut out. What do you do?
The lengths of two sides of a right-angled triangle are 10cm and 16cm. Find
the length of the remaining side, giving your answer correct to 1d.p.
The orbit is decaying and your oxygen is low. You’re out of time. Go
to the pilot’s panel and turn on the thrusters. Find the length of the
hypotenuse.
You’ve made it to the control room but you’re still blind without power.
You’re short on time but you have to turn it back on. Go to the power
room. Find the length of the shorter side.
Pythagoras’ Theorem – Choose Your Own Adventure
Card 15
You’ve made it to the power room. It’s dark
and all the circuit breakers are blown. It’s no
surprise – the energy released when the test
system blew must have been enormous. You
nervously flip the breakers, one by one. The lights return. Power levels are
critically low and you’ve lost a lot of solar panels but it’s enough for what
you need. What do you do?
The lengths of two sides of a right-angled triangle are 4cm and 9cm. Find
the length of the remaining side, giving your answer correct to 1d.p.
It’s time to get out of here. Head to the escape capsule. Find the length
of the hypotenuse.
It’s time to see what’s going on. Head to the control room. Find the
length of the shorter side.
Pythagoras’ Theorem – Choose Your Own Adventure
Card 14
You feel a shove to your back – the thrusters are
working. The capsule takes you on a controlled descent
towards earth. Below you, the station glows as it enters
the atmosphere – falling towards one of the most
densely populated areas of Europe. What do you do?
The lengths of two sides of a right-angled triangle are 6.8cm and 7.2cm.
Find the length of the remaining side, giving your answer correct to 1d.p.
You smile. You’ve made it out, that’s what matters. Find the length of
the hypotenuse.
You reach towards the window, desperate with regret. It’s too late. Find
the length of the shorter side.
Pythagoras’ Theorem – Choose Your Own Adventure
Card 16
You’re in the control room. Things look almost normal
with the lights on, but the sense of normality is false.
The radio comes back to life through the static: “Please,
we’re nearly out of time. You’ve got to turn on the
boosters from the pilot’s panel. Type in the code we’re
sending you for a 300-second burn”. What do you do?
The lengths of the two longer sides of a right-angled triangle are
12cm and 3cm. The digits of the remaining side, correct to 1
decimal place, give the code required.
Pythagoras’ Theorem – Choose Your Own Adventure
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