1 Investigation of Right-angled Triangles

Answering this investigation

Some tasks in this investigation require you to use Geogebra (www.geogebra.
org). All the files are viewable online, so you will not need to install anything.
If you follow the links using a modern internet browser, you should have no
problems. This does mean that you might have problems using a phone or an
old computer (but the school computers should be fine).

All your answers should be written on this investigation in pencil.

Some stuff to know at the start

There are some important concepts and terms that you will need for this
investigation:

Right-angled triangle. This is a triangle with one angle of 90◦ .

Hypotenuse. This is the longest side in a right-angled triangle. Note that it is

always the side opposite the right-angle.

Similar triangles. There are two ways to know that two triangles are similar:

1. All corresponding angles in the triangles (i.e. angles in the same place
in each triangle) are equal.
2. The sides of the triangles are in the same proportions.

Area of a rectangle. The area of a rectangle is its length times its breadth. A
square is a special type of rectangle where the length and breadth are
equal.

Area of a right-angled triangle. The area is 12 × base × height. (It is not hard
to see that a right-angled triangle can be “doubled” by placing an exact
copy of it next to it to form a rectangle.)

Theorem. In Maths, a theorem is a statement that can be proven to be true.

Don’t confuse a theorem with a theory – a theory is an idea that hasn’t
been proved completely.
Gr 8 Investigation 2 of 14 BHS/July 2014

TASK 1: Similar triangles

Four triangles are drawn inside a 10-unit by 10-unit square, as shown below.

Answer the following questions in the spaces provided:

1.1 What fraction of the area of the square is triangle 1?

1.2 What fraction of triangle 1 is triangle 2?

1.3 What fraction of the square is triangle 2?

1.4 How many times can triangle 3 fit into triangle 2?

1.5 How many times can triangle 2 fit into triangle 1?

1.6 What fraction of the area of triangle 1 is triangle 3?

1.7 What fraction of the square is triangle 3?

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Gr 8 Investigation 3 of 14 BHS/July 2014

1.8 How many times can triangle 4 fit into triangle 3?

1.9 How many times can triangle 4 fit into triangle 2?

1.10 How many times can triangle 4 fit into triangle 1?

1.11 How many times can triangle 4 fit into the square?

You will have noticed that all four triangles are the same shape. Their corre-
sponding angles are the same, but the lengths of the corresponding sides differ.
Because their corresponding angles are equal, we call them similar triangles.
From experience, people discovered that a triangle with its sides in the ratio
3 : 4 : 5 is a right-angled triangle. It turns out that if we have a triangle with its
sides in a ratio of 6 : 8 : 10, it’s also a right-angled triangle. If we simplify the
ratio, we get 3 : 4 : 5. This means that any triangle that is similar to a 3 : 4 : 5
triangle is also a right-angled triangle, because its sides will be in the same
proportions.
Because 3 : 4 : 5 is special in this way, we call it a Pythagorean triple. It is not the
only triple, and you will find some others in the next task.
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Gr 8 Investigation 4 of 14 BHS/July 2014

TASK 2: Triples

For this task, you are going to find three other triangles that have whole-number
lengths and are also right-angled triangles. In other words, you are going to
find some different Pythagorean triples.
Follow the steps below and fill in the table that follows:

1. Open https://www.geogebratube.org/student/m138710.
2. By moving the points labelled A and B in the diagram, find three
different right-angled triangles where all three side lengths are whole
numbers. Two of your triangles MAY NOT be 3 : 4 : 5 triangles, but
must be in a different ratio.
3. In the table below, record the lengths of the sides for each of the right-
angled triangles that you find. Remember that all three lengths must
be whole numbers.
4. Once you have calculated the lengths of the sides, calculate the ratio
of the sides to one another, and write the fully simplified ratio in the
table.

Length of Length of Length of Ratio of sides

red side blue side Hypotenuse

Example: 3 4 5 3:4:5

Triangle 1:

Triangle 2:

Triangle 3:

When ancient civilisations discovered these special right-angled triangles,

they did it by observation of the physical world. From these, they were able
to notice a very important and useful pattern.
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Gr 8 Investigation 5 of 14 BHS/July 2014

TASK 3: Noticing the pattern

For this task, you will investigate a number of different right-angled triangles
using GeoGebra to look for a pattern. Answer the questions in the spaces
provided.

Open https://www.geogebratube.org/student/m138697.

3.1 By moving the blue points in the Geogebra file, create different right-
angled triangles to help complete the following table. Note that a, b,
and c are lengths of sides, and are labelled on the diagram. Side-lengths
MUST be whole numbers for this task.

a b c a2 b2 c2

Example: 3 4 5 9 16 25

Triangle 1:

Triangle 2:

Triangle 3:

Triangle 4:

Triangle 5:

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Gr 8 Investigation 6 of 14 BHS/July 2014

3.2 Describe (in words) a relationship that you notice is true for all five
triangles. (If you struggle to find a relationship, consider asking someone or
looking online.)

(3)
3.3 Write down the relationship using symbols and mathematical notation:

(3)
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Gr 8 Investigation 7 of 14 BHS/July 2014

2 The Theorem of Pythagoras

In the previous task, you should have discovered the following relationship,
which we call the Theorem of Pythagoras:

Theorem of Pythagoras: In a right-angled triangle

with sides a, b, and c, where c is the hypotenuse, then:

a2 + b2 = c2 .

To know that this relationship is true mathematically, we have to prove that it is

always true for any right-angled triangle.
There are many different ways to prove this theorem. We will only look at
two of them (although one book on the topic has 370 different proofs for the
theorem!).

TASK 4: Pythagoras’s Proof

Pythagoras definitely wasn’t the first person to know of the theorem, but he
was probably the first person known to have proved it.
We will first look at the proof using a triangle with known measurements, and
then we will use algebra.
4.1 The following two diagrams show Pythagoras’s idea of a proof by
rearrangement:

Y
X

8 Z

15

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Gr 8 Investigation 8 of 14 BHS/July 2014

These two diagrams show a couple of different ways of rearranging a

right-angled triangle with a side of 8 units and a side of 15 units. Note
that while the triangles are patterned differently, this is to help you
see how they have been rearranged – they are actually all copies of the
same triangle.
In the space provided, answer the following questions:
4.1.1 What is the total side-length of the square diagram on the left?

4.1.2 What is the total area of the diagram on the left?

4.1.3 What is the total side-length of the square diagram on the

right?

4.1.4 What is the total area of the diagram on the right?

4.1.5 In the square on the right, there are two smaller white squares,
Y and Z. What is the area of Z?

4.1.6 What is the area of Y?

4.1.7 What is the area of one of the patterned right-angled triangles?

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Gr 8 Investigation 9 of 14 BHS/July 2014

4.1.8 Hence calculate the area of all the patterned triangles in the
diagram on the left.

4.1.9 Calculate the area of all the patterned triangles in the diagram
on the right.

We can calculate the area of the white, unpatterned squares by sub-

tracting the areas of the patterned triangles from the total areas of the
squares.
4.1.10 Hence calculate the combined area of the two white squares Y
and Z in the right-hand diagram.

4.1.11 What is the area of the white square X in the diagram on the
left? Give a reason for your answer.

4.1.12 One side of white square X is the hypotenuse of the patterned

triangle. Calculate the length of the hypotenuse.

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By doing the above, we can see that there may be a general method for
finding the hypotenuse for any right-angled triangle.

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Gr 8 Investigation 10 of 14 BHS/July 2014

4.2 The following diagrams represent a general arrangement of a right-

angled triangle with sides of length a and b, and a hypotenuse of
length c. Note that this set of diagrams could be for any right-angled
triangle, and is not limited to a specific case.

c c
a Y a

b b
Answer the following in the spaces provided. Note that answers will
be algebraic and not numeric.
4.2.1 What is the total side-length of the square diagram on the left?

4.2.2 What is the total area of the diagram on the left?

4.2.3 What is the total side-length of the square diagram on the

right?

4.2.4 What is the total area of the diagram on the right?

4.2.5 In the square on the right, there are two smaller squares, Y
and Z. What is the area of Z?

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Gr 8 Investigation 11 of 14 BHS/July 2014

4.2.6 What is the area of Y?

4.2.7 What is the area of one of right-angled triangles used to make

up these diagrams?

4.2.8 Hence calculate the area of all four right-angled triangles in

the diagram on the left.

4.2.9 Calculate the area of all four right-angled triangles in the

diagram on the right.

4.2.10 Hence calculate the combined area of the two squares Y and Z
in the right-hand diagram.

4.2.11 Calculate the area of X in terms of c.

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Gr 8 Investigation 12 of 14 BHS/July 2014

4.2.12 Without performing a calculation, what is the area of the

square X in terms of a and b? Give a reason for your answer.

4.2.13 What is the relationship between the area of square X and

squares Y and Z? Give an algebraic equation that supports
your answer. (This proves the theorem algebraically!)

4.2.14 One side of the square X is the hypotenuse of the right-angled

triangle with sides a, b, and c. Calculate the length of the
hypotenuse in terms of a and b.

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Gr 8 Investigation 13 of 14 BHS/July 2014

TASK 5: Behold!
Bhāskara, a 12th-century Indian Mathematician, included this proof in Lilavati,
a book he wrote on Mathematics. Along with the diagrams shown below, he
wrote only one word: “Behold!”

a b

The two diagrams are both made up of four copies of a right-angled triangle
with sides a, b, and c. To get from the diagram on the left to the one on the
right, the two shaded triangles on the top-left are moved to new positions. To
understand how the diagram on the right is formed, go to http://britton.
disted.camosun.bc.ca/geometry/behold.html.
5.1 What is the area of the diagram on the left? (Hint: it is a square.)

5.2 What is the total area of the diagram on the right? Do not perform any
calculations, but give a reason for your answer.

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Gr 8 Investigation 14 of 14 BHS/July 2014

We now take the right-most diagram, and consider it a little differently by

imagining it as being made up of two squares, labelled X and Y:

a b

5.3 What is the side-length of the square X, and what is its area?

5.4 What is the side-length of the square Y and what is its area?

5.5 Hence find the combined area of squares X and Y, in terms of a and b.

5.6 Using your solutions to 5.2 and 5.5, write down an equation showing
the relationship between a, b, and c.

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TOTAL: 60