Introduction to Irrational Numbers Using Geometry

Description

Module 7 begins with work related to the Pythagorean Theorem and right triangles. Before the lessons of this module are presented to students, it is important that the lessons in Modules 2 and 3 related to the Pythagorean Theorem are taught. In Modules 2 and 3, students used the Pythagorean Theorem to determine the unknown length of a right triangle. In cases where the side length was an integer, students computed the length. When the side length was not an integer, students left the answer in the form of x2=c, where c was not a perfect square number. Those solutions are revisited and are the motivation for learning about square roots and irrational numbers in general.