Pythagorean Shoes

Have students take off their shoes, right shoes lined up behind right (left behinf left). Have students use C^2 = A^2 + B^2 to calculate the hypotenuse

Got a Lot of Shoes? Let's Learn Pythagoreans Theorem

What you'll need:

shoes

ruler or yard stick 

pen and paper

1st: gather up as many shoes from your closest as you can 

2nd: Since our Pythagorean Theorem only works for 90 degree triangles. line your shoes up to for the letter L (like this)

3rd: Label one line of shoes (we call legs) of your triangle A, and the other line of shoes B

4th: Measure each line of shoes with your measuring device and record them on your paper

     A =

     B =

Now we have enough information to solve the distance from the tip of one line of shoes to the tip of the other line of shoes. We call this line the hypotenuse 

5th: Using Pythagoreans Theorem A^2 + B^2 = C^2 solve for the distance of C, our hypotenuse. 

C = Square root(B^2 + C^2)

6th: Plug in your recorded information for A and B and solve for C. Hint: make sure your using the same units like inches or cm's. Record your answer below

C =  

7th: After recording your data, use your measuring device to measure the hypotenuse (the distance from the tip of one line of shoes to the tip of the other line of shoes). Did you get the same answer?

Questions To Ask Yourself

Say, instead of measuring with your ruler you counted up the size of each shoe for the distance of each line of shoes. Would your answer change? Why?

If you would have mixed multiple units of measurement like cm's and inches while working on the project, versus using the same measuring unit, how would this have effected your answer?