Lesson Plan: Applying the Pythagorean Theorem to Pyramids and Cones Mathematics • Second Year of Secondary School
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to identify the parts of pyramids and cones and use the Pythagorean theorem to find their dimensions.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- identify faces, vertices, and edges of pyramids and their numbers from figures,
- identify the properties of regular pyramids,
- identify the lateral edge, height, and slant height of a pyramid,
- solve problems of finding the slant height, height, or lateral edge of a pyramid using the Pythagorean theorem,
- identify parts of a right cone, including the drawer (slant height), vertex, and axis (height), from figures and nets,
- solve problems of finding the drawer (slant height), height, or radius of a cone using the Pythagorean theorem, arc lengths, and areas of sectors.
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- the Pythagorean theorem applied to 2D systems,
- calculating the radius, diameter, and circumference of a circle,
- pyramids,
- cones.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- vectors,
- using area or volume to find unknown lengths.