Bring a little art into your math class as you begin to use the Pythagorean theorem and your students first meet irrational numbers.
Wheel of Theodorus
Tag: Pythagorean Theorem
Indigenous Peoples or Columbus Day
Sts learn a little history, question what they have learned earlier, and calculate how far off Columbus was from East India and his understanding of the actual circumference of the Earth.
Wrapping presents on the diagonal
In this activity students determine if this method for minimizing wrapping paper is actually more efficient then the traditional method. For a hands on learning experiment, have students actually wrap a small rectangular prism using any available paper in both the traditional and diagonal methods. Then let them compare the two quantities of wrapping paper and decide which method uses less paper and by what percent.
Watson saves
Students use the Pythagorean Theorem with Ben Watson’s incredible tackle to figure out how far he must have run. Truly phenomenal play!
Steepness and fall hiking
Combine colorful and cool fall hiking with a little mathematics about percent grade change. What is a steep grade? Why is it in percent? How does grade change relate to slope?
12/16/20 – Pythagorean Triples
This would be a good date to play with Pythagorean Triples. Pythagorean Triples and coloring – Pythagorean triples are not only handy for students to recognize but produce some interesting and lovely patterns. We’ve combined a little coloring with our Pythagorean…
2 Hiking Activities
Appalachian Trail Needs – Calculating the needs and rates involved in enduring this 2,168 mile trek.
Steepness and Fall Hiking – Use a little mathematics about percent grade change in hiking.
Can you show that the Pythagorean Theorem works?
Use this activity to help your students work through the meaning of the Pythagorean theorem. Pythagorean theorem experiences are often skill and drill work with contrived right triangle problems. In this activity students work with a visual representation of the…
String design, ellipses, and orbital mechanics
Artistic way to encourage understanding of a conic section. Participants physically build an ellipse by choosing two foci and sketching the figure through a loop of string. While stitching an elliptical string design they puzzle about varying the foci spread and the loop length to create more extreme ellipses and are intuitively introduced to the measurement of eccentricity.
Fish tale, go figure!
I have two fish in my aquarium. Betty is my white goldfish. She often stays really close to the front wall as she swims towards her food. Stripe, my clownfish, usually swims diagonally across the tank to the back top…
Three wrapping presents activities
3 activities about wrapping presents: On the diagonal, 3-act by estimation with iPhone, and judging sizes and needs by estimation with man and shopping basket.
Spiraling squares – compass and straight edge
Can you see the many spirals in this design? Students calculate the size of each increasing round of squares and consider what sort of spirals these must be. The activity: SpiralingSquares.pdf Working with a little mathematical art is a great…
Pythagorean Triples and coloring
Pythagorean triples are not only handy for students to recognize but produce some interesting and lovely patterns. We’ve combined a little coloring with our Pythagorean Triple pattern investigation to let your students relax while they color, view the beauty, and…
Spiraling triples
Let students explore the patterns of perfect squares and Pythagorean Triples as they analyze our piece of art and decide why the resulting construction looks like spiraling squares. For a finale they color their own spiraling triple. The activity: SpiralingTriples-activity.pdf
HDTV Surprise!
How were your holidays? Your school vacation? Mine was good. I surprised my family with this HDTV, which I wrapped and hung on our wall. The size of an HDTV is determined by the length of its diagonal. What size…