In the education system it has been discovered that learners have misleading misconceptions
when dealing with problems related to the Pythagorean theorem . This write up aims to lay bare
five of the misconceptions which have been noticed to be present when learners deal with
problems related to the Pythagorean theorem. Terms to be defined are Pythagorean theorem and
misconceptions.
According to (Liu Hui 2021) the Pythagorean theorem is a well known geometric theorem that
the sum of the squares on the legs of a triangle is equal to the square of the hypotenuse (the side
opposite the right angle). “A misconception is a view or opinion that is incorrect based on faulty
thinking or understanding”.Busher(2010)
The first misconception manifested by learners when dealing with the Pythagorean theorem is
the assumption that the Pythagorean theorem applies to all types of triangles not only right
angled triangles .The appropriate way to remedy this misconception is by making it clear to the
learners that the Pythagorean theorem applies to right angled triangles only .For other non right
angled triangles other formulas like the laws of cosine and laws of sine can be applied.
The second misconception seen evident in learners when dealing with the Pythagorean theorem
is that the hypotenuse is always the sum of the adjacent and opposite sides. The reality is that the
hypotenuse is the square root of the sum of the squares of the other two sides.
Another misconception evident in learners when dealing with the Pythagoras theorem is that the
Pythagoras theorem only works in geometry whilst the reality is that the theorem has numerous
applications in various fields like physics, engineering, trigonometry and even data analysis
The Pythagorean theorem can be applied in real life and some of the instances are as follows
Building design
An architect wants to design a rectangular building with a length 15 metres and a width 8
metres. What is the length of the diagonal?
Solution ..c^2 =a^2+b^2 where a =15 b=8 and c=? c^2 =15^2 +8^2 c^2 =225+64 =289
c=17metres
Surveying
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Asurveyor needs to measure the distance between two points on a map which forms a right
angled triangle with a horizontal distance of 50metres ans a verticaldistance of 30metres .What is
the straight line distance?
Solution c^2=a^2 +b^2 where a =50 b=30 c^2=50^2+30^2 c^2 =3400 c=58.31 metres
Physics A projectile is launched with an initial velocity of 20m/s atban angle 30 degrees to the
[Link] is the range of theprojectile?R^2 =v^2*sin(20) where v =30 degrees
R^2=20^2*sin(60)=400*0.866=346.4 R =18.56metres
Engineering A bridge is designed with a height of 10metres and a span of 20metres .What is the
length of the diagonal lsupport beam?Solution c^2=a^2+b^2 ..c^2 =10^2+20^2 c^2 =500 c
=22.36 metres
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REFERENCES
Busher,W.B .2010 .Building and Construction. New Jersey Publishers .New Jersey
Liu ,H. [Link] for Elementary Teachers, New York Publishers,New York
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