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Pythagorean Proofs and Areas

We began with our thought question from Monday,
Is it possible to express the area of a triangle using its sides only?
Numerous opinions were expressed but before we began our discussion in earnest, the
concern was raised that our proof of the area of a parallelogram was not quite complete as
we had not proven that we could calculate the altitude of a parallelogram from the given
information. Our discussion led to the conclusion that there is no SSSS for congruence of
quadrilaterals. Professor Alibegovic suggested that an interesting question for
investigation would be: What are the minimum conditions needed to conclude that 2
quadrilaterals are congruent? However due to classroom limitations we would not
discuss this. We then returned to our triangle discussion. It was proposed that the triangle
ABC could be solved by creating a perpendicular at point A to the hypothenus (c) with an
intersection point D. Then we could create 2 congruent triangles to make two rectangular
regions for which we could caluculate the area.

Professor Alibegovic indicated that after algebraic manipulations Heron’s formula for the
length of H could be obtained. The answer to our question then was: YES.

Pythagorean Proofs:
Proof #1 was suggested by Sarah and was the one most people were familiar with.
Sarah drew a square with a tilted square inside and marked the inside square as having
sides of length c. The outside square had side dimensions of a + b because a was the long
leg of the triangle and b the short leg. Using the equivalency of the total Area (A), the
area of the big square, A= (a+b) (a+b) =a2 +2ab +b2 was set equal to the area of square c
and the areas of the four triangles, A=c2+ 4 (1/2 ab)
By subtracting 2ab from both sides, a2+ b2=c2 was obtained.

Although everyone agreed with the proof, several assumptions and the method of
construction needed to be investigated. We looked at several different ways of
constructing this system. We could begin with 2 rectangles of dimension axb and run a
diagonal through them to create 4 triangles that then could be placed to form a square of
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Pythagorean Proofs and Areas
(a+b) x (a+b). See the following illustration.

“Despite the ease of any construction, all the assumptions nested in the construction
should be explicitly proven. We then went on to point out how you could prove the
inside quadrilateral was indeed a square by identifying congruent angles, using the
theorem that the sum of the three interior triangle angles is 180 degrees and identifying
supplementary angles.

Proof # 2 was suggested by Jennifer but found at

http://www.ies.co.jp/math/java/geo/pythasx/pythasx.html
Prove Pythagrean Theorem by changing area .

At the provided website, you can watch the transformation as the blue square (a2) coverts
into a parallelogram of equivalent area and side c (the empty square c2) and then is again
transformed into a rectangle of side c and placed into c2. The green square (b2) is then
similarly transformed into parallelogram and then rectangle. Again, although a visual
representation is given, proof of the transformations is not documented only suggested by
the construction method.
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Pythagorean Proofs and Areas

Proof #3: This proof begins with four congruent triangles. They are arranged so that
their hypotenuses form the outside edges of a square and an inner square of sides
X=a–b The area can then be calculated two ways:
A=4 (1/2 ab) + (a-b)2 =2ab + b2 -2ab + a2
A = c2
So setting the two equations equal gives
c2 = a2 + b2

Again, this is the visual and algebraic point of the proof but to really be a proof the
axioms of geometry must be utilized and each step justified such does the construction
form a square or just a quadrilateral.

Proof #4: Ralph illustrated another method.

Again, merely showing how it is constructed is not enough to prove the theorem. Each
step must be justified and the completed shape must be proven to be constructed of
straight lines and 90 degree angles.
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Pythagorean Proofs and Areas
Proof #5: President Garfield’s method: Two congruent triangles with hypothenus c
and a side a and a side b are placed as shown in the diagram.

By connecting points E and D, a trapezoid is created.

We then had to stop our proof to discuss how the area of a trapezoid could be calculated.
We determined that trapezoids could be cut into a rectangle and two triangles and the
area calculated or a copy of the trapezoid could be made and connected to the original
trapezoid to form a parallelogram with base length of the two parallel sides added
together and the original altitude. Doing the calculations gave us the result that
The Area of a Trapezoid is equal to ½ times the height times the sum of the two parallel
sides.

Applying this formula to the above diagram yields:

The area of the trapezoid (A) = ½ (a+b) (a+b) =1/2 a2 + ½ b2 + ½ (2ab)=a2 + b2+ ab
Alternatively the area of the trapezoid can be calculated as the sum of the three triangles
contained in its respective area: A=2 (1/2 ab) +1/2 c2 =ab +c2.
Equating the two calculations yields: ab +c2 =a2 + b2+ ab, subtracting ab from both sides
gives us our desired result: c2 =a2 + b2
Again we discussed how this does not represent a full proof as we need to identify the
assumptions implied in the process and prove their validity.

Calculating Areas
After completing the proofs we turned our attention back to calculating areas.

We concluded that when shaded parts are congruent to non-shaded parts it is ½ of the
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Pythagorean Proofs and Areas
whole. This led us to our next activity of evaluating areas of various geo-board shapes.
After calculating the area, we looked at the number of internal vertices versus the
boundary vertices. Professor Alibegovic challenged us to continue investigating and see
if we could identify a pattern for determining area.

Remaining Class Schedule:

We discussed and posted the following schedule for the remainder of our class sessions:
11/23 Begin by discussing Van Hiele
11/25 Lab 4 Due—Prove everything
11/30 Angles Worksheet
12/2 Similarity Assignment Due
12/7 Pythagorean Proofs Due--Give full proofs for two different methods
12/9 get ready: Buried Treasure – not to be turned in

FINAL: Wednesday, December 16, 2009 from 1:00 – 3:00 pm