Activity Overview
Students use an interactive diagram of a three dimensional box to explore the relationship between the side lengths of the box and the length of the diagonal connecting opposing vertices. Students verify the length of the diagonal by using Pythagoras’s theorem in three dimensions.
Objectives
ACMMG276 - Pythagoras' theorem and trigonometry to solving three dimensional problems in right-angled triangles
Vocabulary
- Diagonal
- Hypotenuse
- Pythagoras
About the Lesson
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Students are provided with an activity file that includes an interactive diagram of a three dimensional box. Each side (edge) of the box can be varied with the subsequent diagonal length displayed. Students compute the length of the diagonal to verify Pythagoras’s theorem in three dimensions.