Question

Copy and complete the table on the previous page into a Word document. Title your journal "Pythagorean Theorem". Discuss any relationships you see in the table? Then, look at the equation below and calculate whether a2 + b2 is >, <, or = to c2 based on the numbers you recorded in your table.
I attached the chart (in blue) and the assignment! Can someone please help, I don't understand!

Answer 1

In trigonometry, the right triangle is considered a special triangle because there are derived equations solely for this type. It is really convenient when dealing right triangle problems because it is more simplified courtesy of the Pythagorean theorems. It is derived that the square of the hypotenuse (longest side of the triangle) is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two legs. In equation, that would be c² = a² + b². For this activity, all you have to do is find the sum of the squares in columns a and b. Then, see if this is equal to the square of the values in column c. Let's calculate each row:

Row 1:
3² + 4² ? 5²
25 ? 25
25 = 25

Row 2:
5² + 12² ? 13²
169 ? 169
169 = 169

Row 3:
9² + 12² ? 15²
225 ? 225
225 = 225

Therefore, all of the given values conform to a² + b² = c².