New
New
Year 9

Length of a shorter side

I can use Pythagoras' theorem to find the length of one of the shorter sides.

New
New
Year 9

Length of a shorter side

I can use Pythagoras' theorem to find the length of one of the shorter sides.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The sum of the squares of the two shorter sides equals the square of the longest side.
  2. The difference between the squares of the longest and known shorter sides is the square of the remaining side.
  3. A calculator can perform these calculations efficiently.
  4. Rounding gives a less accurate answer so there might be times you wish to leave your answer with an operator.

Common misconception

The method for finding the length of a shorter side of a right-angled triangle using Pythagoras' theorem is exactly the same as when finding the hypotenuse.

Whilst the initial setup of "the sum of the squares of the two shorter sides equals the square of the hypotenuse" will be the same, finding the length of a shorter side will require an extra step of rearranging terms in the equation.

Keywords

  • Right-angled triangle - A right-angled triangle has exactly one 90° interior angle.

  • Hypotenuse - A hypotenuse is the side of the right-angle triangle which is opposite the right-angle.

  • Pythagoras’ theorem - Pythagoras’ theorem shows that the sum of the squares of the two shorter sides of a right-angled triangle is equal to the square of its longest side (the hypotenuse).

Whilst the calculator modelled during this lesson is from the fx-570/991cw Classwiz series, efficient use of a calculator for Pythagoras' theorem is similar across most calculators. For older Casio models, converting from surd to decimal form requires the S⇔D button.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
The triangle formed from these three squares is right-angled. Find the area of the square labelled $$h$$ units².
An image in a quiz
7.22
44
48.17
Correct answer: 52
2320
Q2.
The triangle formed from these three squares is right-angled. The area of the square labelled $$p$$ units² is units².
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 110, 110 units², 110units²
Q3.
The area, $$w$$, of the largest square in this diagram, is cm².
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 100, 100 cm², 100cm², 100 cm squared, 100cm squared
Q4.
Find the length of the hypotenuse of this triangle.
An image in a quiz
5 cm
Correct answer: 10 cm
14 cm
50 cm
10 000 cm
Q5.
The length of the hypotenuse for this triangle is units.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 23, 23 units, 23units
Q6.
The length of the hypotenuse of this triangle is cm.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 82, 82 cm, 82cm

6 Questions

Q1.
Find the length of the shorter side of this right-angled triangle, labelled $$b$$.
An image in a quiz
6.67 units
Correct answer: 13 units
16 units
169 units
Q2.
The length of the shorter side of this right-angled triangle, labelled $$c$$ is cm.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 17, 17 cm, 17cm
Q3.
The length of the shorter side of this right-angled triangle, labelled $$d$$, is cm, rounded to 2 decimal places.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 8.77, 8.77 cm, 8.77cm
Q4.
The length of the side $$x$$ cm is cm, rounded to 2 decimal places.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 10.58, 10.58 cm, 10.58cm
Q5.
A right-angled triangle has a hypotenuse of 130 cm. The length of one of its shorter sides is 66 cm. Using Pythagoras' theorem, the perimeter of this triangle is cm.
Correct Answer: 308, 308 cm, 308cm
Q6.
Calculate the area of this right-angled triangle.
An image in a quiz
112 cm²
Correct answer: 840 cm²
847.5 cm²
1680 cm²
1695 cm²