Other tags that relate to Where to Land
Mathematical reasoning & proof. Mathematical modelling. Regular polygons and circles. 2D shapes and their properties. Triangles. Pythagoras' theorem. Sine, cosine, tangent. Visualising. Creating and manipulating expressions and formulae. Similarity and congruence.There are 73 results
Broad Topics > Pythagoras and Trigonometry > Pythagoras' theorem
Where to Land
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Chris is enjoying a swim but needs to get back for lunch. If she can swim at 3 m/s and run at 7m/sec, how far along the bank should she land in order to get back as quickly as possible?
Medallions
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Three circular medallions fit in a rectangular box. Can you find the radius of the largest one?
Garden Shed
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
Can you minimise the amount of wood needed to build the roof of my garden shed?
Under the Ribbon
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
A ribbon is nailed down with a small amount of slack. What is the largest cube that can pass under the ribbon ?
Are You Kidding
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
If the altitude of an isosceles triangle is 8 units and the perimeter of the triangle is 32 units.... What is the area of the triangle?
Pythagorean Triples I
Age 11 to 16
The first of two articles on Pythagorean Triples which asks how many right angled triangles can you find with the lengths of each side exactly a whole number measurement. Try it!
Nicely Similar
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
If the hypotenuse (base) length is 100cm and if an extra line splits the base into 36cm and 64cm parts, what were the side lengths for the original right-angled triangle?
Squ-areas
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Three squares are drawn on the sides of a triangle ABC. Their areas are respectively 18 000, 20 000 and 26 000 square centimetres. If the outer vertices of the squares are joined, three more. . . .
Crescents and Triangles
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Can you find a relationship between the area of the crescents and the area of the triangle?
Where Is the Dot?
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
A dot starts at the point (1,0) and turns anticlockwise. Can you estimate the height of the dot after it has turned through 45 degrees? Can you calculate its height?
Napkin
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
A napkin is folded so that a corner coincides with the midpoint of an opposite edge . Investigate the three triangles formed .
Fitting In
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
The largest square which fits into a circle is ABCD and EFGH is a square with G and H on the line CD and E and F on the circumference of the circle. Show that AB = 5EF. Similarly the largest. . . .
Two Circles
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Draw two circles, each of radius 1 unit, so that each circle goes through the centre of the other one. What is the area of the overlap?
Pythagorean Triples II
Age 11 to 16
This is the second article on right-angled triangles whose edge lengths are whole numbers.
Circle Scaling
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Describe how to construct three circles which have areas in the ratio 1:2:3.
Six Discs
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Six circular discs are packed in different-shaped boxes so that the discs touch their neighbours and the sides of the box. Can you put the boxes in order according to the areas of their bases?
Circumnavigation
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
The sides of a triangle are 25, 39 and 40 units of length. Find the diameter of the circumscribed circle.
Inscribed in a Circle
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
The area of a square inscribed in a circle with a unit radius is, satisfyingly, 2. What is the area of a regular hexagon inscribed in a circle with a unit radius?
Liethagoras' Theorem
Age 7 to 14
Liethagoras, Pythagoras' cousin (!), was jealous of Pythagoras and came up with his own theorem. Read this article to find out why other mathematicians laughed at him.
Slippage
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
A ladder 3m long rests against a wall with one end a short distance from its base. Between the wall and the base of a ladder is a garden storage box 1m tall and 1m high. What is the maximum distance. . . .
Squareo'scope Determines the Kind of Triangle
Age 11 to 14
A description of some experiments in which you can make discoveries about triangles.
Pythagoras Proofs
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Can you make sense of these three proofs of Pythagoras' Theorem?
Partly Circles
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
What is the same and what is different about these circle questions? What connections can you make?
Compare Areas
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Which has the greatest area, a circle or a square, inscribed in an isosceles right angle triangle?
Ladder and Cube
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
A 1 metre cube has one face on the ground and one face against a wall. A 4 metre ladder leans against the wall and just touches the cube. How high is the top of the ladder above the ground?
Floored
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
A floor is covered by a tessellation of equilateral triangles, each having three equal arcs inside it. What proportion of the area of the tessellation is shaded?
Grid Lockout
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
What remainders do you get when square numbers are divided by 4?
The Dangerous Ratio
Age 11 to 14
This article for pupils and teachers looks at a number that even the great mathematician, Pythagoras, found terrifying.
Circle Box
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
It is obvious that we can fit four circles of diameter 1 unit in a square of side 2 without overlapping. What is the smallest square into which we can fit 3 circles of diameter 1 unit?
Rhombus in Rectangle
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Take any rectangle ABCD such that AB > BC. The point P is on AB and Q is on CD. Show that there is exactly one position of P and Q such that APCQ is a rhombus.
Some(?) of the Parts
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
A circle touches the lines OA, OB and AB where OA and OB are perpendicular. Show that the diameter of the circle is equal to the perimeter of the triangle
Hex
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
Explain how the thirteen pieces making up the regular hexagon shown in the diagram can be re-assembled to form three smaller regular hexagons congruent to each other.
Square Pegs
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
Which is a better fit, a square peg in a round hole or a round peg in a square hole?
The Pillar of Chios
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Semicircles are drawn on the sides of a rectangle. Prove that the sum of the areas of the four crescents is equal to the area of the rectangle.
Take a Square
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Cut off three right angled isosceles triangles to produce a pentagon. With two lines, cut the pentagon into three parts which can be rearranged into another square.
Matter of Scale
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Prove Pythagoras' Theorem using enlargements and scale factors.
At a Glance
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
The area of a regular pentagon looks about twice as a big as the pentangle star drawn within it. Is it?
Zig Zag
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Four identical right angled triangles are drawn on the sides of a square. Two face out, two face in. Why do the four vertices marked with dots lie on one line?
Equilateral Areas
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
ABC and DEF are equilateral triangles of side 3 and 4 respectively. Construct an equilateral triangle whose area is the sum of the area of ABC and DEF.
Ball Packing
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
If a ball is rolled into the corner of a room how far is its centre from the corner?
Isosceles
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
Prove that a triangle with sides of length 5, 5 and 6 has the same area as a triangle with sides of length 5, 5 and 8. Find other pairs of non-congruent isosceles triangles which have equal areas.
Trice
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
ABCDEFGH is a 3 by 3 by 3 cube. Point P is 1/3 along AB (that is AP : PB = 1 : 2), point Q is 1/3 along GH and point R is 1/3 along ED. What is the area of the triangle PQR?
Round and Round
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Prove that the shaded area of the semicircle is equal to the area of the inner circle.
A Chordingly
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
Find the area of the annulus in terms of the length of the chord which is tangent to the inner circle.
Kite in a Square
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Can you make sense of the three methods to work out the area of the kite in the square?
The Fire-fighter's Car Keys
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
A fire-fighter needs to fill a bucket of water from the river and take it to a fire. What is the best point on the river bank for the fire-fighter to fill the bucket ?.
Rectangular Pyramids
Age 14 to 18 Challenge Level:
Is the sum of the squares of two opposite sloping edges of a rectangular based pyramid equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sloping edges?
All Tied Up
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
A ribbon runs around a box so that it makes a complete loop with two parallel pieces of ribbon on the top. How long will the ribbon be?
The Old Goats
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
A rectangular field has two posts with a ring on top of each post. There are two quarrelsome goats and plenty of ropes which you can tie to their collars. How can you secure them so they can't. . . .
Pythagoras
Age 7 to 14
Pythagoras of Samos was a Greek philosopher who lived from about 580 BC to about 500 BC. Find out about the important developments he made in mathematics, astronomy, and the theory of music.
NRICH is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.