Pythagoras theorem escape room for Year 8 and Year 9 (KS3): a no prep maths revision lesson built as a detective mystery. Pupils use Pythagoras’ theorem to crack six locked cases and work out who stole a diamond from the City Museum. 25 pages covering square roots, finding the hypotenuse, finding a shorter side, the converse, distance between coordinates and problems in context, with every lock at two levels and full answer keys.

Seven suspects, one thief. Each correct code releases a letter of the thief’s name, and each letter rules out a suspect, so pupils reason logically as well as calculate. Two suspects share five of the six letters, so the case stays open until the very last lock.

Level 1 (Detective) uses Pythagorean triples, so every answer is a whole number: ideal for a first lesson or a non-calculator check. Level 2 (Inspector) rounds to one decimal place, decides whether triangles are acute, right-angled or obtuse, and stretches into 3D. Both levels open the same locks with the same codes, so mixed-ability teams race together and you mark every team from one cheat sheet.

What’s included (25 pages)

• Case Briefing evidence board and seven illustrated Suspect Files
• A Case Log for each team, with a suspect line-up to cross off
• 12 lock pages: six locks at Level 1 and Level 2
• The Vault Door: square numbers, square roots, estimating roots and cube roots
• The CCTV Tapes: finding the hypotenuse
• The Laser Grid: a self-checking maze of missing sides
• The Evidence Locker: the converse of Pythagoras’ theorem
• The Floor Plan: the distance between two points on a coordinate grid
• The Forensic Lab: ladders, screens and paths (Level 2 adds 3D diagonals and cones, a KS4 stretch)
• Hint cards, Evidence Released cards and Case Closed certificates
• One-page teacher’s guide, set-up page, code cheat sheet and worked answer keys
• Black and white pupil edition, 6 projector slides with the reveal, A4 and US Letter

Ways to use it

• A first Pythagoras lesson (Level 1) or end-of-topic revision (Level 2)
• KS3 revision or a cover lesson: everything is on paper, every code on one page
• Six stations around the room, in any order
• Small-group intervention, one lock at a time

Suitable for SEN, EAL and home education. Not seasonal. Single classroom licence.