Unit B: Right Triangles
Chapter 3 - Pythagorean Theorem

Many English words originated in languages, such as German, French, and Latin. The English language also uses Greek prefixes and roots. For example, did you know that the root word 'graph' is Greek, and means written or drawn? And 'auto' is a Greek word that means 'to do with self'.

The Greek language has had a large influence on the English language, and the Greeks have had a large influence on Mathematics.

A Greek man named Pythagoras (Pie-thag-or-as) was a philosopher and a mathematician. He had a group of people who liked to hang around with him and think about things, such as Math. The group was called the Pythagorean Brotherhood, although there were women in the group as well. Many things that they thought about had to do with Math and the relationships and connections between numbers. It is believed that the Brotherhood proposed the Pythagorean Theorem.

The Goal

Here are the things you will do in this lesson:

Learn about the history of how the Pythagorean Theorem was developed, and how it is used
Discover when to use the Pythagorean Theorem
Evaluate when the Pythagorean Theorem works and when it does not
Explain why the theorem applies only to right triangles