Proving
Pythagoras’ Theorem
and that ancient Greeks
were pretty good
at mathematics
We start with a triangle of a particular type.
c
a
b
What is the area of this rectangle?
c
a
b
Split that
rectangle so
that we can
have two of
the original
triangles and a
new right
angled triangle
a
b
a
c
c
b
a
Fill in the gap
with another
right angled
triangle to make
another
rectangle.
b
e
c
f
a
c
b
Mirror one rectangle to make a larger one
a
b
a
e
c
f
c
b
c
a
a
e
b
c
f
e
Can you work
out the area of
each set of
shapes?
Pythagoras’ Theorem
c
a
b