Pythagorean Theorem

How the lesson starts: Pythagorean Theorem

Ahoy, treasure!
Ahoy! Captain Coral's map says: walk 3 steps east, then 4 steps north, and dig for treasure. But Pip the parrot flies straight there. How far does Pip fly? The secret is hiding in a right triangle. Let's find it!
Squares on the sides
The two sides that make the square corner are the legs: 3 and 4. The longest side, across from the corner, is the hypotenuse. Build a square on each side. 9 plus 16 makes 25, exactly the square on the hypotenuse, because 5 × 5 = 25. So a² + b² = c², and Pip flies 5 steps!
Let's find a hypotenuse
A new map: legs 6 and 8. Square each leg: 36 and 64. Add them: 100. That's c², so take the square root: c = 10. Watch out for two slips! Adding the legs, 6 + 8 = 14, forgets to square. And stopping at 100 forgets the root.