1.

5 The Pythagorean Theorem

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➤ A right triangle has two legs that form the hypotenuse
leg
right angle. The side opposite the right
angle is called the hypotenuse.
leg
➤ The three sides of a right triangle form a relationship known as the Pythagorean
Theorem.
Pythagorean Theorem: The area of the square on the hypotenuse is equal to the
sum of the areas of the squares on the legs. 2 2
10 cm
➤ In the diagram:
Area of square on hypotenuse:
102 cm2 = 100 cm2
Areas of squares on legs: 10 cm
6 cm
62 cm2 + 82 cm2 = 36 cm2 + 64 cm2 62 cm2
= 100 cm2
8 cm
Notice that 102 = 62 + 82.
82 cm2
This theorem is true for all right triangles.

➤ You can use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of any side of a right
triangle when you know the lengths of the other two sides.

12
l
10 h

9
7 To calculate the leg with length
To calculate the hypotenuse h, l, solve for l in this equation:
solve for h in this equation: 122 = l 2 + 92
h2 = 72 + 102 144 = l 2 + 81
h2 = 49 + 100 144 – 81 = l 2 + 81 – 81
h2 = 149 63 = l 2
h = √149 √63 = l
Use a calculator: h ! 12.2 Use a calculator: l ! 7.9 cm

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1. Identify the legs and the hypotenuse of each right triangle.

a) ____________ b) ____________ ____________

g n r

j p
d
____________ ____________
____________

2. Circle the length of the unknown side in each right triangle.

a) b) ? c) 15

? 3 ?
8 4 8

√13 √ 89 √7 5 17 √161

3. Find the length of the unknown side in each right triangle. Use a calculator to
approximate each length to 2 decimal places, if necessary.

a) b) 6 c) d) 13
12 10
l
7 h 8 12
l
h
3
h2 = _____ + _____ _____ = _____ + _____

= =

4. Find the length of the unknown side in each triangle. Use a calculator to approximate each
answer to 1 decimal place. 10
25
a) b) c)
9 12
6 ? 22 ?

_______________ _________________ _________________

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1.6 Exploring the Pythagorean Theorem

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➤ The Pythagorean Theorem is true for right triangles only.
➤ To see which triangle is a right triangle, check to see if the area of the square on the
longest side is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares on the other two sides.

144 cm2 169 cm2 225 cm2

100 cm2

13 cm
12 cm
P 15 cm
10 cm Q
5 cm
25 cm2 7 cm

49 cm2

25 cm2 + 144 cm2 = 169 cm2 49 cm2 + 100 cm2 ! 225 cm2

The Pythagorean Theorem applies to triangle P, but not to triangle Q.

➤ A set of three whole numbers that satisfy the Pythagorean Theorem is called a
Pythagorean triple. For example, 5-12-13 is a Pythagorean triple because 52 + 122 = 132

➤ For a right triangle:

area of square on the longest side (square C) = area of square A + area of square B

B c
b

a
A

➤ For a Pythagorean triple a-b-c:

c 2 = a2 + b2

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1. Fill in the blanks from the list of choices to make the sentence true.

a)
36 m2
6m Triangle X _______ a right triangle because
100 m 2
______________
X 64 m2
10 m
8m is is not 6 + 8 ! 10 100 = 64 + 36

b)

17 cm2
Triangle Y _______ a right triangle because
_____________
8 cm2
is is not 82 + 152 = 172 8 + 15 ! 17

15 cm2

2. Which of the following triangles are right triangles? Explain.

a) b) c)

40 cm2 8 m2
68 m2

20 m2
42 cm2 6 m2
72 cm 2
10 m2
48 m 2

__________________ __________________ ___________________

__________________ __________________ ___________________

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3. Determine whether the triangle with each set of side lengths is a right triangle. Justify
your answer.

a) 20 cm, 30 cm, 40 cm b) 30 mm, 40 mm, 50 mm

_____ cm + _____ cm = ______ cm
2 2 2
________________________________
_____ cm2 = ______ cm2 ________________________________
The triangle _______ a right triangle
because _______________________

c) 20 m, 21 m, 29 m d) 60 cm, 11 cm, 62 cm
___________________________ _____________________________
___________________________ ______________________________

4. Fill in the blanks to make the sentence true.

The set of numbers 7, 24, 25 is a Pythagorean triple because ______ + ______ = ______

5. Which of these sets of numbers are Pythagorean triples? Explain.

a) 10, 50, 60 b) 12, 35, 37

This __________ a Pythagorean triple ______________________________
because 102 + 502 ______ 602 ______________________________

6. Two numbers of a Pythagorean triple are given. Find the missing number. The numbers are
listed in ascending order.
a) 7, 24, _______
The missing number is the __________ of the sum of the ________ of the first two
numbers.
__________________

= _____

= _____

b) 16, 30, ________ c) 10, ________, 26

7. Doug wants to check that a lawn he is planting is a rectangle. He measures the width of the
lawn to be 10 m, the length to be 24 m, and the diagonal to be 26 m. Is the lawn a
rectangle? Explain.
If the lawn is a rectangle, then the width, length, and diagonal form a __________ triangle.

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

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 1.7 Applying the Pythagorean Theorem

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➤ The Pythagorean Theorem applies to right triangles.
➤ An algebraic equation for the Pythagorean Theorem is h2 = a2 + b2, where h is the
length of the hypotenuse and a and b are the lengths of the legs.

h2 square units

a2 square h
units a

b2 square
units

➤ You can apply the Pythagorean Theorem to problems involving right triangles.

You can calculate how high up the wall the ladder in the diagram reaches
using the formula h2 = a2 + b2
Since the length of the ladder is the hypotenuse of the right triangle,
we label it h. The lengths of the two legs of this triangle are
labelled a and b.
h = 10 m a=?
Substitute b = 4 and h = 10 into h2 = a2 + b2

102 = a2 + 42
100 = a2 + 16
100 – 16 = a2 + 16 – 16 b=4m
84 = a2
Tip
√84 = a
It does not matter
9.2 ! a which leg is labelled a
a is approximately 9.2 m. The ladder reaches and which leg is
approximately 9.2 m up the wall. labelled b, so long
as a and b label
the legs and h labels
the hypotenuse.

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1. Use the Pythagorean Theorem to check if this is a right triangle.
4 cm
Substitute a = ____, b = ____, and h = ____
into the formula h2 = a2 + b2
6 cm
h2 = ______ a2 + b2 = ______ 8 cm

Circle the choices that make the sentence true.

Since h2 equals / does not equal a2 + b2, the triangle is / is not a right triangle.

For questions 2 to 5, give each length to 1 decimal place.

2. Use the equation h2 = a2 + b2 to find the length of the unknown side.

5 cm
a) b)
h=?
6 mm

h=? 9 cm

10 mm
h ! ________
h!
11 mm
c) d) 9 cm

b=? a=?
23 mm 7 cm

b ! ________ a ! _______

3. An 8-m ladder leans against a wall. How far up the wall does the ladder reach if the foot
of the ladder is 3 m from the base of the wall? Show your work.

H I N T
Identify which is the
hypotenuse before 8m
you substitute. ?

b ! ________ 3m
The ladder can reach a height of ______, to 1 decimal place.

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4. A ship leaves port and travels 12 km due north. It then changes direction and travels due
east for 10 km. How far must it travel to go directly back to port?
10 km
Sketch a diagram to explain.

12 km
The ship must travel _________, to 1 decimal place, to go h = ? km
directly back to port.
weather
5. A weather balloon is anchored by a cable 800 m long. balloon

The balloon is flying directly above a point that

is 100 m from the anchor. How high is the balloon
flying? Give your answer to
the nearest metre.

The balloon is flying at a height of __________,

to the nearest metre. 800 m
b=?

ANCHOR

100 m

6. A rectangular field is 40 m long and 30 m wide. Carl walks from one corner of the field to
the opposite corner, along the edge of the field. Jade walks across the field diagonally to
arrive at the same corner. How much shorter is Jade’s shortcut?
Tip
Sketch a diagram
first.

The diagonal of the field measures ______.

Jade walks ______.
Carl walks ______ + ______ = ______
Jade’s shortcut is ______ – ______ = ______ shorter.

7. What is the length of a diagonal of a square with area 100 cm2? Give your answer to
1 decimal place.

The side length of the square is the square root of _______, or ______ cm.

The diagonal of the square is the __________ of the right triangle with sides ______ and
______.

The length of the diagonal of the square is _______, to 1 decimal place.

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In Your Words
Here are some of the important mathematical words of this unit.
Build your own glossary by recording definitions and examples here. The first one is done for you.

perfect square (square number)____ square root ____________________

the product of a whole number multiplied
__________________________________________ __________________________________________
by itself
__________________________________________ __________________________________________
For example, 25 is 5 ! 5, so 25 is a
__________________________________________ __________________________________________
perfect square.
__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

_______________________________________ _______________________________________

legs of a right triangle ___________ hypotenuse ____________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

_______________________________________ _______________________________________

_____________________________________ ______________________________________

Pythagorean Theorem ___________ Pythagorean triple _____________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

________________________________________ ________________________________________

______________________________________ ______________________________________

List other mathematical words you need to know.

____________________________________________________________________________

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Unit Review
LESSON
ysöchink plig
1.1 1. Circle the perfect squares. Use a diagram to support your answer.

a) 36 b) X
63 c) 121 d)X
99
M × 1A

V
= H

1.2 2. Simplify without using a calculator.

a) 82 = _____________ b) √49 = _____________

c) 122 = ____________ d)√ 121 = ____________

3. List the factors of each number in ascending order. Circle the numbers that are
perfect squares.

a) 50 b) 196
______________________________ ______________________________

c) 84 d) 225
______________________________ ______________________________
1.3 4. The area of a square is given. Find its side length. Circle the side lengths that are
whole numbers.

a) 18 cm2 b) 169 cm2 c) 200 cm2

________ ________ ________

5. Find the area of the square. Then write the side length of the square.

Area = ________________
Side length = ___________

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