Basic facts about the pythagorean theorem
Try it yourself
Pythagorean explanation theorem in class
Student explanation of pythagorean theorem
What could pythagorean theorem questions look like?
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What is the pythagorean theorem:

To use the Pythagorean Theorem we must know that the diagonal side of a right triangle is called the hypotenuse and that the remaining sides are called legs. The Pythagorean Theorem says that when we square each leg (multiply it by itself) then add, we get the same result as squaring the hypotenuse.

Basic facts:

When you are given a leg and the hypotenuse you must square and subtract, then find the square root of that answer.
When you are given the value of the legs you must square and add, then find the square root of that answer.

Often these problems are disguised but they always involve a right triangle.

Try it for yourself

Here is an interactive right triangle. Enter two sides and it will tell you the length of the third side. Make up some values. How does the triangle know how long the third side is?

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