The Pythagorean Theorem

Pythagorean Theorem- If a right triangle has legs of lengths a and b and hypotenuse of length; then:

 

In a triangle. the side opposite the right angle is the hypotenuse.  The other two sides are legs.  The Pythagorean Theorem states that the are of square with the hypotenuse of a right triangle as a side is equal to the sum of the areas of the square with the legs as sides.

Here is a fun video to go more in depth with the Pythagorean Theorem!

 

Another theorem for calculating area is called Pick's Theorem:

B = Border Points
I = Interior Points

To learn more about Pick's Theorem, check out this informative video!

These websites have some great examples and ideas to use to teach these two theorems!

http://www.mathsisfun.com/pythagoras.html
http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?ID=L623