Card 1
You wake up in a room lit by red emergency
lights. The radio is blaring but you can’t make out
the message over the depressurisation alarms.
What do you do? Answer the question to choose:
The lengths of two sides of a right-angled triangle are 3cm and 5cm. Find
the length of the remaining side, giving your answer correct to 1d.p.
Reach for your helmet and put it on securely. Find the length of the
hypotenuse.
Silence the alarms so you can hear the radio. Find the length of the
shorter side.
Pythagoras’ Theorem – Choose Your Own Adventure
Card 3
You open the door and step through. You immediately try
to step back but it’s too late. It’s clear now why the window
was dark; this whole section of the station is missing. What
do you do?
The lengths of two sides of a right-angled triangle are
2cm and 15cm. Find the length of the remaining side,
giving your answer correct to 1d.p.
Hit your suit thrusters! Find the length of the hypotenuse.
There’s a cable within reach – grab it! Find the length of the
shorter side.
Pythagoras’ Theorem – Choose Your Own Adventure
Card 2
You hit your thruster controls desperately.
They sputter once, then die, but it’s
enough. You slowly move back towards
the door and pull yourself back inside,
closing it behind you. Shaking, you try the
door with the flashing light.
The lengths of the shorter sides of a
right-angled triangle are 7cm and 10cm.
Find the length of the hypotenuse,
giving your answer correct to 1d.p.
Pythagoras’ Theorem – Choose Your Own Adventure
Card 4
You’ve made it to the escape capsule. As you lock the door,
your radio regains signals. “If anyone can hear me, you
have to get to the control room! The orbit is decaying and
the station is too heavy to burn up. It could kill thousands!”.
The message carries on repeating. What do you do?
The lengths of two sides of a right-angled triangle are 6cm and 8cm. Find
the length of the remaining side, giving your answer correct to 1d.p.
That sounds like someone else’s problem. Engage the escape capsule
thrusters. Find the length of the hypotenuse.
You sigh – you always had to be a hero. You leave the escape capsule
and head back towards the control centre. Find the length of the
shorter side.
Pythagoras’ Theorem – Choose Your Own Adventure
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