Title The Distance Formula from the Pythagorean Theorem Overview of Lesson Students will discover the relationship

between the Pythagorean Theorem and the distance formula. Common Core State Standards Grade Level Content CCSS.Math.Content.8.G.B.8 Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to find the distance between two points in a coordinate system. CCSS.Math.Content.HSG-GPE.B.4 Use coordinates to prove simple geometric theorems algebraically. Mathematical Practices CCSS.Math.Practice.MP1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them CCSS.Math.Practice.MP2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively Prerequisites Properties of 90 degree triangles, the Pythagorean Theorem, x,y plane and coordinates Learning Targets 1. Students will locate two points of interest on a map and draw the line of shortest distance after understanding the concept of how the crow flies. 2. Students will construct a right triangle where two non-linear points form the hypotenuse of a right triangle after transferring the map to a coordinate plane. Time Required 50 minutes Materials Required markers scaled map I. Instructional Lesson Plan Launch: Review the properties of right triangles using a concept map. The words right triangle will be centered on the board and each pod of students will be given a marker. Pods will brainstorm 3-5 words, symbols, pictures, representations, theorems, formulas that are associated with right triangles. This will get at what they know about the concept, which is about to be utilized to explore another concept, distance. Students will have completed concept mapping throughout the year, so they will be familiar with the activity. After the board is filled with students writing, ask students to explain what stands out to them, things they didnt think of, connections they could make, and predictions about how they could use right triangles to further their learning according to the days objective. straight-edge graph paper

Plan:
1. Begin by using the overhead and drawing points on a map that are not directly

north-south or east-west aligned. Discuss their location and the fastest way to get from point A to point B. What route would get you to point B from point A most directly? What mode of transportation would get you to point A to point B the most directly? 2. Assign numbers 1-4 to students and have students create groups based on shared numbers. Have a compass drawn on the board and next to the directions NE, NW, SE, and SW, write the group number that corresponds: 1s NE, 2s NW, 3s SE, 4s SW. 3. Hand out worksheet. 4. Have students pair up within their groups. Then, one partner will pick a starting point on the map and the other partner will pick and end point in the corresponding direction that they were assigned. 5. Together, with students, connect the line with a straight edge, then draw the height and base of the triangle. 6. Trace triangle onto grid paper. Walk around and see how students are coming along. 7. Ask students to help you find the length of each leg, starting with the base and height, then the hypotenuse. 8. Ask: will this method of finding side lengths in a right triangle always hold true? What is the general method for finding the length of the hypotenuse? Classroom discussion-Example answer: Given two points, you can always plot them, draw the right triangle, and then find the length of the hypotenuse. The length of the hypotenuse is the distance between the two points. Since this format holds from all right triangles, a formula can be made to find the length of the hypotenuse or the distance between two points. Close on the board: 9. Just as we found the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle using a relationship between the other two sides (called the Pythagorean Theorem), we can find the distance between two non-linear points. Just as we did earlier, plotting your points and drawing the triangle allows us to use the relationship C2=A2+B2. In this equation, C is the length of the hypotenuse or the distance between two points. If we can find an equation for c, we can find the distance between any two points. Lets see how this is done. 10. By manipulating and expression that we know holds true for right triangles, which we can always create from a line (show how), we can use that relationship to isolate one of the variables. So we want to manipulate the Pythagorean Theorem to solve for c. a) A2 + B2 = C2 How can we get C by itself? Ex. Answer: taking the square root of both sides.

b)

c) d)

e)

f)

g)

h)

2 A2 )= C, where A is the length of the base and B is the length of the height. Going back to our graph, if A is the length of the base, is there another way we can represent length? In other words, how do we determine length? Discussion. Ex. Answer: We subtract the x values and take the absolute value because distance cant be negative. Since we have two end points, we can name one (x1, y1) and (x2, y2). It doesnt matter which is which as long as each point has the same subscripts, referring to first point, second point. Therefore, A can also be written as (x2-x1). Lets try this with a few practice problems on the whiteboards: a. Find the distance between the x points, (4, 20), (6, 30). Answer: 2 b. A is the line with endpoints (3, -1) and (-7, 7). Find the length of A. Answer: A = 10. c. A right triangle has a base length 8. What are possible coordinates of the endpoints of the base? Sample answer: (18,2),(10,5) Have students keep whiteboards. Now that we have A and C figured out, who can predict how we can rewrite B so that we can find the distance between two points that form the height of the triangle? Answer: (y2-y1). a. On your white boards: what is the distance between the y points, (7, -3), (1, 2)? Answer: 5 b. B is the line with endpoints (4, 4) and (2, 16). Find the length of B. Answer: 12 c. A right triangle has a height length 11. What are possible coordinates of the endpoints of the height? Sample answer: (1, 1), (4, 12) Why does it matter that we can write A and B in terms of xs and ys? Sample answer: Because we normally work with coordinates when talking about distance between two points. Now, carefully substituting in our new ways to write A and B, as well as

using d for distance, we get 11. From this algebraic manipulation of the Pythagorean Theorem, we have the Distance Formula. It is amazing that we can create formulas from proven Theorems. In fact, we dont even need to memorize the Distance Formula if we can remember the relationship between the side lengths in a right triangle, given by the Pythagorean Theorem Distance Formula: Given the two points (x1, y1) and (x2, y2), the distance between these points is given by the formula:
12. Go back to worksheet, and complete # 7 9. Answer for #8 = 5, #9 =

Exit slip: Explain how the Pythagorean Theorem can be used to find the distance between two points. Assessment Performance: Manipulate the Pythagorean Theorem to create the distance formula. Written (exit slip): How are the distance formula and Pythagorean Theorem related? Possible Extension Extension: Given a third point on the map, determine the total distance of the route. See worksheet.