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Posted: **Thu Apr 06, 2006 1:32 pm**

Well, I instantly imagined this:

            /|
           / |
          /  | 8
    6    /   |
  -----CC-----
  |   /    6
8 |  /
  | /
  |/

(x/2)^2 = 6^2+8^2
(x/2)^2 = 100
x/2 = 10
x = 20
Yay!

@Lizard:
Hey, it's a very Polish name, it has no equivalent in any other language.

It's pronounced like 'Leshek'.

<EDIT>Damn you, Tom, you were some 40 secs faster!</EDIT>

Posted: **Thu Apr 06, 2006 3:26 pm**

Code: Select all

            /| 
 z->       / | 
          /  | 8   <-x 
    6    /   | 
  -----CC----- 
  |   /    6 |
8 |  /       |
  | /        |
  |/         |
  -----------|
      ^y^

actually it does work out simpler doing it that way in this case.... But since its all one big right triangle I always form the whole thing, which makes the squares slightly more complicated in your head, but could be easier on certain other cases maybe...

y^ + x^ = z^
12^ + 16^ = z^
144 + 256 = z^
400 = z^
20 = z

The point remains though, that there are ways to get lost when thinking about the structure, and then once that is passed, some people dont know the pythagorean theorum. So its harder then both a simple word math problem, and a simple geometric problem, because it involves both.

edit - heh... isnerted wrong number as x and y... not that it matters for the math, just wrong for my diagram.

Posted: **Thu Apr 06, 2006 3:41 pm**

I couldn't remember the Pythagorean Theorem either, so I made a crude ruler out of paper and measured it--still got it right.

I cant forget that damn thing If I tried... Also thats not a bad thing, because it is perhaps the most usefull of all geometrical theorums, constrantly coming into play with construction of all sorts. People build at right angles... and finding a hypotenuse is a common issue... I remember being 13 and my dad asking me to find one for a shed he was building... the base length of about 75% of (american) rooftops in america is the hypotenuse of a right triangle, because 45 degrees is by far the most common roof angle.

EDIT -- oh actually strike that, what he asked me was the sides of the triangle based on the hypotenuse, for the purpose of buying shingles. He knew the width of the roof, so just needed to know how long the equal side of the slope were, so you can figure that and its length for square footage of shingles.

I was looking at that white graph on the previous page.... ok finaly i see what the graph shows... but it was touch and go for a minute there!

jv wrote:Not that that question would have anything to do with IQ.. I doubt many would come up with the answer had they not learned pythagoras at school (and not had a ruler)

but thats precisely why it is an IQ type question. IQ does measure recall in parts, and does measure reading comprehension in parts, and does measure visualization in parts... and this is one of the few question types, that regularly features all three criteria.

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