Get Wheel Of Theodorus Project Packet 2020-2025

In geometry, the spiral of Theodorus (also called square root spiral, Spiral of Einstein, Pythagorean spiral, or Pythagoras's snail) is a spiral composed of right triangles, placed edge-to-edge. It was named after Theodorus of Cyrene.

Theodorus, who was mentioned by Plato, studied the square roots of numbers up to 17, finding that many of them 'had no common measure', a concept already familiar to Indian mathematicians. He is thought to have represented these numbers in a 'wheel' or spiral. The bright yellow triangles have sides in the ratio 1:1:2.

The Spiral of Theodorus is a shape composed of right triangles, placed edge-to-edge. In this lesson, students explore the spiral. While drawing the spiral, students will repeatedly construct perpendicular lines. For some students, this repetitive process can lead to creating their specialized geometrical tool.

Square root spiral is a mathematical term where right triangles compose a spiral and those right triangles are placed in edge-to-edge. The square root spiral is also known as the Spiral of Theodorus. The real life example of square root spiral is the spiral ladders which we use in light houses.

Theodorus of Cyrene was a Greek philosopher and mathematician who lived during approximately 500 BC. Little is known about his life, but he is well known for his mathematical theorem known as the Spiral or Wheel of Theodorus.

Pythagoras, for whom the theorem is named, lived in ancient Greece, 2500 years ago. It is believed that he learned the theorem during his studies in Egypt. The Egyptians probably knew of the relationship for a thousand years before Pythagoras.

A Pythagorean Spiral is a series of right triangles specifically configured so that the hypotenuse of the first right triangle becomes a leg of the next right triangle. In this project, you will use your knowledge of the Pythagorean Theorem to find the lengths of the sides of the triangles that make up the spiral.