Investigating Geometry with GeoGebra

Henrico County Public Schools

Pythagorean Theorem 1

READ the instruction below and INTERACT with the GeoGebra applet on the right.

  1. The Pythagorean Theorem states that for any right triangle, the sum of the squares of the lengths of the legs equals the square of the length of the hypotenuse.

  2. Move point C to change the shape of the triangle.

  3. Observe what happens to the attached squares.

  4. This is a visual proof for the Pythagorean Theorem

  5. Can you explain why this works?

Sorry, the GeoGebra Applet could not be started. Please make sure that Java 1.4.2 (or later) is installed and activated. (click here to install Java now)