14 Chapter 1 Measurement

1C Pythagoras’ theorem in three-dimensional problems

You will recall that for any right-angled triangle we can link Stage
the length of the three sides using Pythagoras’ theorem. Given
two of the sides, we can work out the length of the remaining 5.3#
side. This has applications in all sorts of two- and 5.3
three-dimensional problems. 5.3§
5.2

Let’s start: President Garfield’s proof 5.2◊

5.1
Five years before he became president of the United States 4
of America in 1881, James Garfield discovered a proof of
Pythagoras’ theorem. It involves arranging two identical right-
1 and ◯
angled triangles (◯ 2 ) to form a trapezium,
as shown.
US President Garfield discovered
a a proof of Pythagoras’ theorem.

1
b c

c
a
2

1
• Use the formula for the area of a trapezium A = h(a + b) to find an expression for the area of the
2
entire shape.
• Explain why the third triangle ◯3 is right-angled.
• Find an expression for the sum of the areas of the three triangles.
• Hence, prove c2 = a2 + b2.

■ Pythagoras’ theorem states that:

Key ideas

The sum of the squares of the two shorter sides of a right-angled triangle equals
the square of the hypotenuse.
c
a2 + b2 = c2 a

b
■ The exact length of a side is sometimes written as √5, for example,
rather than a non-repeating, never-ending decimal such as 2.236… .

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 1C Pythagoras’ theorem in three-dimensional problems 15

Example 5 Finding side lengths using Pythagoras’ theorem

Find the length of the unknown side in these right-angled triangles, correct to 2 decimal places.
a b 1.1 m
x cm
5 cm
ym
1.5 m
9 cm

SOLUTION EXPLANATION
a c2 = a2 + b2 x cm is the length of the hypotenuse.
∴ x2 = 52 + 92 Substitute the two shorter sides
= 106 a = 5 and b = 9 (or a = 9 and b = 5).
∴ x = √106 Find the square root of both sides and round your
= 10.2956 … answer as required.
The length of the unknown side is 10.30 cm
(to 2 decimal places).
b a2 + b2 = c2 Substitute the shorter side b = 1.1 and the
y2 + 1.12 = 1.52 hypotenuse c = 1.5.
y2 = 1.52 − 1.12 Subtract 1.12 from both sides.
= 2.25 − 1.21
= 1.04
∴ y = √1.04 Find the square root of both sides and evaluate.
= 1.0198 . . .
The length of the unknown side is 1.02 m
(to 2 decimal places).

For centuries builders, carpenters and landscapers have used Pythagoras’

theorem to construct right angles for their foundations and plots. The ancient
Egyptians used three stakes joined by a rope to make a triangular shape with
side lengths of 3, 4 and 5 units, which forms a right angle when the rope is taut.

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16 Chapter 1 Measurement

Example 6 Using Pythagoras’ theorem in 3D

Consider a rectangular prism ABCDEFGH with the side lengths H
G
AB = 7, AE = 4 and EH = 2. Find:
C
a BE, leaving your answer in exact form D
E F
b BH , correct to 2 decimal places
A B

SOLUTION EXPLANATION
a E Draw the appropriate triangle.

B
A 7
c2 = a2 + b2 Substitute a = 4 and b = 7.
∴ BE2 = 42 + 72 Solve for BE exactly.
= 65 Leave intermediate answers in surd form to reduce the
∴ BE = √65 chance of accumulating errors in further calculations.
b H Draw the appropriate triangle.
2
E √65 B
BH2 = HE2 + EB2 Substitute HE = 2 and EB = √65.
= 22 + (√65) 2 Note (√65) 2 = √65 × √65 = 65.
= 4 + 65
= 69
∴ BH = √69
= 8.31 (to 2 decimal places)

Exercise 1C
UNDERSTANDING AND FLUENCY 1–5 2–6 3–4(½), 5, 6(½)

1 Solve for a in these equations, leaving your answer in exact form. Assume a > 0.
a a2 + 32 = 82 b a2 + 52 = 62 c 22 + a2 = 92
d a +a =2
2 2 2
e a +a =4
2 2 2
f a2 + a2 = 102

2 Write an equation connecting the pronumerals in these right-angled triangles.

a y b c c

x b x
z a

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 1C Pythagoras’ theorem in three-dimensional problems 17

Example 5a 3 Use Pythagoras’ theorem to find the length of the hypotenuse for these right-angled triangles.
Round your answers to 2 decimal places where necessary.
a b 10 m c 7 km
3 cm
5m 15 km
4 cm

d 0.2 mm e 0.37 km 0.21 km f

1.8 mm 72.1 cm

27.3 cm

Example 5b 4 Find the length of the unknown side in these right-angled triangles, correct to 2 decimal places.

a b c 0.3 m
12 m
2m 5m
0.7 m
9m

d 0.71 cm e f 0.14 cm
19.3 cm
1.32 cm 24.2 cm
0.11 cm

Example 6 5 For each of these rectangular prisms, find:

i BE, leaving your answer in exact form
ii BH , correct to 2 decimal places
a H G b H D
D C 2 G
C
E F
3 14
A 5 B A
E
8
F 4 B
c H G d H G

3
D C
D
F C
E 9

7
E F
A 1 B
2
A 8 B
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18 Chapter 1 Measurement

6 Use Pythagoras’ theorem to help decide whether these triangles are right angled. They may not be
drawn to scale.
a 3 b c 8
2
12 13 6
4 11

d e 9 f √5
10 1
12 2
12
15
6

PROBLEM-SOLVING AND REASONING 7, 8, 12 8–10, 12, 13 9(½), 10, 11, 13, 14

7 A 20 cm drinking straw sits diagonally in a glass of radius 3 cm and height 10 cm.

What length of straw protrudes from the glass? Round your answer to 1 decimal place.

8 Use Pythagoras’ theorem to find the distance between points A and B in these diagrams,
correct to 2 decimal places.
a B b 3 cm c

1.2 m 1.7 cm 35 m
A 3.5 cm
A 49 m
2.6 m B
1.9 cm 26 m

A B

d 5.3 cm e B 0.5 km f
A
A 19.7 km
2.1 km 17.2 km
5.3 cm 1.8 km
A
B B
14.3 km

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 1C Pythagoras’ theorem in three-dimensional problems 19

9 Find the value of x, correct to 2 decimal places, in these three-dimensional diagrams.

a x mm b xm c
3.7 m x cm 5 cm
15.5 m
9.3 mm 11.4 mm 3 cm

d e x km f
2.93 cm
xm 2m
6.7 km 4.04 cm
5.31 cm
1.5 m
3m 6.2 km x cm

8.2 km

10 Find the exact distance between these pairs of points on a number plane.
y

8
6
4
2
x
–8 –6 –4 –2–2O 2 4 6 8
–4
–6
–8

a (0, 0) and (4, 6)

b (−2, 3) and (2, −1)
c (−5, −3) and (4, 7)

11 a Find the length of the longest rod that will fit inside these objects. Give your answer correct to
1 decimal place.
i a cylinder with diameter 10 cm and height 20 cm
ii a rectangular prism with side lengths 10 cm, 20 cm and 10 cm
b Investigate the length of the longest rod that will fit in other solids, such as triangular prisms,
pentagonal prisms, hexagonal prisms and truncated rectangular pyramids. Include some three-
dimensional diagrams.

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20 Chapter 1 Measurement

12 Two joining chords in a semicircle have lengths 1 cm and 2 cm, as shown.

Find the exact radius, r cm, of the semicircle.

2 cm
1 cm

r cm

13 The diagonals of a rectangle are 10 cm long. Find the exact dimensions of the rectangle if:
a the length is twice the width
b the length is three times the width
c the length is 10 times the width

14 Streamers are used to decorate the interior of a room that is 4.5 m long, 3.5 m wide and 3 m high,
as shown.
B
A
3m
D C
E
F
4.5 m
G
H 3.5 m

a Find the length of streamer, correct to 2 decimal places, required to connect from:
i A to H
ii E to B
iii A to C
iv A to G via C
v E to C via D
vi E to C directly
b Find the shortest length of streamer required, correct to 2 decimal places, to reach from A to G
if the streamer is not allowed to reach across open space.

ENRICHMENT – – 15

How many proofs?

15 There are hundreds of proofs of Pythagoras’ theorem.

a Research some of these proofs using the internet and pick one you understand clearly.
b Write up the proof, giving full reasons.
c Present your proof to a friend or the class. Show all diagrams, algebra and reasons.

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