Right or Not?

In class we did a worksheet to determine if triangles created by sheets of graph paper are acute, right, or obtuse. We lined up three sheets of of different sized graph paper to create a triangle. We then collected data on the numbers of squares or area of a each sheet.



We found the sum of the areas of the two smaller sheets. Then labeled the type of triangle it was. I found that if the sum of the areas of the two smaller sheets is equivalent to the area of the largest sheet then it is a right triangle. If the sum of the two smaller sheets is more than the area of the largest sheet then the triangle is acute. And if the sum of the areas of the two smaller sheets is less than the sum of the area of the largest sheet then the triangle is obtuse. This activity demonstrated the Pythagorean theorem which states that A squared+B squared= C squared.


For more information on the Pythagorean theorem check out this video.