Lesson #2 - Augsburg College

Geometry: A Shapely Approach to Math
should start by drawing a right triangle (making sure that the long side is less than 8 inches).
Further Reading:
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_theorem
c
b
Next the students should measure the length of each side and cut out three squares, one with side length
a, one with side length b, and one with side length c. Finally, they should cut the two smaller squares up
so that they fit into the larger one. (This might get a bit messy if students find that they need to cut their
squares into very small pieces.) This should work, or come close to it - depending on accuracy, every time!
From this exercise they should be able to see that a 2 + b 2 = c 2
If there’s time left over, ask the group to think about triangles that don’t have right angles in them. They
can try doing the same experiment using non-right triangles and find that it doesn’t work.
a
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