Math

Pythagoras in Beads

This hands-on model demonstrates the Pythagorean theorem using area. The square on the hypotenuse contains enough beads to exactly fill the two squares built on the other sides of the right triangle.

Tilt the exhibit and watch the beads move from one large square into the two smaller ones. It gives a visual demonstration that

$a^2+b^2=c^2$ — the area of the square on the hypotenuse equals the combined areas of the other two squares.