MAT117 Week 6 DQ 2
MAT 117 /MAT117 Course
Algebra 1B
MAT 117 /MAT117 Week 6 Discussion Question
Version 8
Week 6 DQ 2
1. Other than those listed in the text, how might the Pythagorean theorem be used in everyday life?
2. Provide examples of each.
RESPONSE
1. Other than those listed in the text, how might the Pythagorean theorem be used in everyday life?
Well other than the way its listed in the text the way that the pythagorean theorem can be used any time is when we have a right triangle, we know the length of two sides, and we want to find the third side. A basic example I would like to use is the following which is I was in Walmart the other day and saw a nice entertainment center on sale at a good price. The space for the TV set measured 17" x 21". I didn't want to take the time to go home to measure my TV set, or get the cabinet home only to find that it was too small. I knew my TV set had a 27" screen, and TV screens are measured on the diagonal. To figure out whether my TV would fit, I calculated the diagonal of the TV space in the entertainment center using the Pythagorean theorem: 172 + 212 = 289 + 441 = 730 So the diagonal of the entertainment center is the square root of 730, which is about 27.02". From figuring that out i saw that my tv should fit, but the 27" diagonal on the TV set measures the screen only, not the housing, speakers and control buttons. These extend the TV set's diagonal several inches, so I figured that my TV would not fit in the cabinet. When I got home, I measured my TV set and found that the entire set was 21" x 27.5", so it was a good decision not to buy the entertainment center.
2. Provide examples of each.
1st Example: For example, the height to a second story window may be 25 feet, and a window cleaner may need to put the ladder ten feet away from the house in order to avoid the bushes or flowers. How long of a ladder does the window cleaner need in order to achieve this task?
2nd Example: Find the distance
Algebra 1B
MAT 117 /MAT117 Week 6 Discussion Question
Version 8
Week 6 DQ 2
1. Other than those listed in the text, how might the Pythagorean theorem be used in everyday life?
2. Provide examples of each.
RESPONSE
1. Other than those listed in the text, how might the Pythagorean theorem be used in everyday life?
Well other than the way its listed in the text the way that the pythagorean theorem can be used any time is when we have a right triangle, we know the length of two sides, and we want to find the third side. A basic example I would like to use is the following which is I was in Walmart the other day and saw a nice entertainment center on sale at a good price. The space for the TV set measured 17" x 21". I didn't want to take the time to go home to measure my TV set, or get the cabinet home only to find that it was too small. I knew my TV set had a 27" screen, and TV screens are measured on the diagonal. To figure out whether my TV would fit, I calculated the diagonal of the TV space in the entertainment center using the Pythagorean theorem: 172 + 212 = 289 + 441 = 730 So the diagonal of the entertainment center is the square root of 730, which is about 27.02". From figuring that out i saw that my tv should fit, but the 27" diagonal on the TV set measures the screen only, not the housing, speakers and control buttons. These extend the TV set's diagonal several inches, so I figured that my TV would not fit in the cabinet. When I got home, I measured my TV set and found that the entire set was 21" x 27.5", so it was a good decision not to buy the entertainment center.
2. Provide examples of each.
1st Example: For example, the height to a second story window may be 25 feet, and a window cleaner may need to put the ladder ten feet away from the house in order to avoid the bushes or flowers. How long of a ladder does the window cleaner need in order to achieve this task?
2nd Example: Find the distance