Sophia on the web
A
Resource Guide for Philosophy Students
Created by Jennifer Leslie Torgerson, MA
This
page last modified: September 18, 2012
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copyright, 1997 -present
http://philosophyhippo.net
Meno Diagrams
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Figure One: Assume that each small square is 1 unit in length, thus
the entire square is 4 x 4. Squares have 4 equal sides. What is the area of the yellow square? 1. What is the area of the yellow/orange square? 4 (side length of square is 2). What is the area of the yellow/orange/red square? 9 (side length of square is 3). What is the area of the entire diagram? 16 (side length of square is 4). So a square with the side length of 4 has an area of
16. *ponder* What length would the side of the square need be for
the area to be 8? Can it be a natural
number? Let’s try a different approach |
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Figure Two: Assume that the green square to right is the 4 x 4
square above. What is the length of
the side of the white square?
Using the Pythagorean Theorem, it may be possible to
solve the problem: 22
+ 22 = C2 4 +
4 = C2 8 = C2 Square
root of 8 = C The
answer cannot be given as a natural number. |
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