Question 148800: how to prove taht the diagnols of a restangle are equal through a practical activity
Answer by nabla(475)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! Take a ruler and measure the diagonals of a common 8.5x11 inch piece of paper. The diagonals will be equal.
The reason why diagonals of rectangles are equal is seen by the Pythagorean Theorem. If we cut a rectangle into two triangles, both triangles will have identical measures for respective sides. Thus, the hypotenuse (the diagonal) has to be the same.
Consider
_a
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If we form 2 triangles, we will have triangles composed of a and b. Since a^2+b^2=a^2+b^2=c^2, it follows the diagonals are equal.
Perhaps this is more than was necessary for this problem, but I hope it helps.
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