8th grade Instructional Unit
Unit 2 – Exponents & Square Roots Review
Unit 3 – Pythagorean Theorem Instructional Unit
by
Nancy Perzel
Day 9 - Pythagorean Relationships GSP Activity
Warm-Up:
Post the picture below for students to think about at the beginning of class. Discuss the relationship between the areas of the hexagons. This activity can be found on page 15 of the CCGPS Unit 3 Framework Student Edition.
Introduce the second question to guide the class activity. The third question could be used at the end of the class period to conclude the lesson.
Activity:
Give students time to explore these questions using GeometerŐs Sketchpad by creating shapes (other than squares) on the sides of a right triangle. To see this exploration done with pentagons, equilateral triangles, similar rectangles, half-circles and a combination of two shapes open the Pythagorean Relationships GSP File.
For a more through study and proof of this relationship, read Kassie Smith's essay by clicking here.
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