Pythagorean Theorem Converse Activity


My students always tend to get mixed up when using the Pythagorean Theorem Converse.  They tend to get the direction of the inequality mixed up and I hear things like "greater than means acute...or does it mean obtuse?".   My solution to this is to have students ALWAYS write the bigger number first in the inequality and put a box where the inequality goes.  So they would write something like this...
52 o 32 + 42

Then, they do the comparison to see which is larger.  Basically, they are being consistent with the way they are showing their work.  I try to get them to say to themselves, "The longest side is longer/shorter than the other two, so that means it's acute/obtuse."  I think consistency helps them in this case.

Here is a practice activity for interactive notebooks using the Pythagorean Theorem Converse.

Pythagorean Theorem Converse Interactive Notebook Activity   |  mrseteachesmath.blogspot.com

I like this because they are doing a zillion practice problems, but the students don't really notice.  I glued everything in on this page, but I could have made little pockets and put the cards in the pockets so students can practice.  You can find this activity here.