Pythagorean Theorem Worksheet | Problems | PDF
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Over 2,000 years ago, the Greek Mathematician Pythagoras devised an equation that shows a constant relation between sides of a right triangle. Using a Pythagorean Theorem worksheet can help get your kids engaged in working with this equation and improving their mathematical skills.
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In its simplest form, the theorem can be written as a2 + b2 = c2. This describes the relationship between the sides of a right triangle. In other words, if you square the lengths of the shorter sides (that join to form the right angle), and add them, this number will equal the length of the longer side (the hypotenuse) squared. For example, if the shorter sides were 2 and 3 inches long, to find the hypotenuse’s length, you’d square them and then add them to get 13. Then, to find the length of the hypotenuse, you’d find the square root of 13, which is about 3.6.
The theorem is useful in everyday applications and in advanced math. For example, you can find the size of your TV screen (which is measured from corner to corner) by using the theorem. The theorem is also widely used to find areas and distances geographically.
Using Pythagorean Theorem Worksheets
You can create Pythagorean Theorem worksheets in a word processing program in a number of ways.
One way to do so is to find a template with right triangles that lets you fill in the numbers on the sides, and has lines to the right of each triangle to let students show their work in finding the missing length.
Some of your problems can be word problems, or just a set of numbers. Varying the types of problems you use can help students think about the issues in different ways, solidifying their understanding. A word problem, for example, can describe a distance or an object, like a doghouse, and then ask the student to find the length of one of the lines involved based on the other lengths you provided. Otherwise, you can just list two numbers in a problem, stating which sides of a triangle they belong to, and let the student find the third.
In MS Word, you can use the Insert tab to insert shapes, such as right triangles, and then write the lengths of two of the sides, prompting the student to determine the length of the third side. You can add some variety by varying the sizes of the triangles and filling them with different colors. You can also use the Shape Outline tool under the Drawing Tools tab to enhance and color the outline of the shape.
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