What's+the+Point?

====....your students ask: **"WHY DO WE HAVE TO LEARN THIS? WILL WE EVER USE THIS IN REAL LIFE?"** The answer is YES! Here are some great ways that The Pythagorean Theorem is applied to everyday life. ====
 * What do you do when... **

=Example 1: =

=== ===

What better way to bring the Pythagorean Theorem to life than by relating it to baseball? Here is a prime example that will potentially excite the boys in the classroom especially. Knowing that a baseball diamond consists of 4 bases spaced 90 feet apart, we can pose the question, "If a player is standing at second base, how far will he need to throw the ball to throw out a runner trying to score at home?" To work through this problem, we have a right triangle consisting of two 90 feet legs with a hypotenuse the length of second base to home. In our above photo, home to first is 90 feet. First to second is 90 feet. And finally, second base back to home is our hypotenuse we are trying to find. By the Pythagorean Theorem, we can calculate 90 2 + 90 2 and this will give us c 2.

8100 + 8100= 16200

If we take the square root of 16200, we can find the distance of C. The square root of 16200 is approximately 127 feet so the distance the player will need to throw the ball from second to home is approximately 127 feet!

=Example 2: =

For example two, we will pose a more female geared problem. Lets say two best friends, Sara and Jessica, are meeting at the local nail salon. This nail salon is located at the corner of Smith Lane and Comer Street. Sara is currently at her house 8 miles away on Smith Lane. Jessica is currently at her mom's work which is located 6 miles away on Comer Street. To apply the Pythagorean Theorem, we can ask how far away are Sara and Jessica currently? Obviously, if they are meeting at a destination located and the intersection of two streets, that point will create a right angle. With each girl being a certain distance away, we are given the legs of the triangle by Comer Street and Smith Lane. The hypotenuse length will be the distance these girls are apart.



8 2 + 6 2 = C 2

64 + 36= 100

The square root of 100 is 10. Therefore, our hypotenuse length is 10 miles.

=Example 3: = 

Chad is moving into a new house. He has rented a moving ran and is wondering how long the ramp attached to the truck is. At the point where the ramp connects to the truck, there is a height of 4 feet. The distance from where the ramp meets the ground to the truck is 6 feet. Therefore, we can use pythagorean theorem to find the length of the ramp.

<span style="color: #137272; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">4 2 + 6 2 = C 2

<span style="color: #137272; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">16 + 36 = 52

<span style="color: #137272; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">The square root of 52 is approximately 7.2. Therefore, we have an approximate length of the ramp of 7.2 feet.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">Some helpful ideas:

 * ====<span style="color: #137272; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">These are not the only real life examples! It may be a fun class activity to see if your students can come up with other examples themselves. ====


 * ====<span style="color: #137272; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">To find these and other real life examples through the internet, follow the link from our citation page! Or go directly to the source. ====


 * <span style="color: #137272; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Want to go back to home?