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© 2002 Key Curriculum Press Teaching Mathematics with The Geometer’s Sketchpad • ii
Teaching Notes
If you’ve read the Learning Guide, you’ve learned 1+Φ = 1/Φ
how to use The Geometer’s Sketchpad and you’ve
probably discovered that the range of things you can
do with the software is greater than you first
imagined. For all its potential uses though,
Sketchpad was designed primarily as a teaching and
learning tool. In this section, we establish a context
for Sketchpad in geometry teaching and offer
suggestions for using Sketchpad in different ways in
different classroom settings. More than 20 sample
activities—touching on a range of school
mathematics topics—follow these teaching notes. By Although it remains a matter of dispute, some architects and
mathematicians believe the Parthenon was designed to utilize the
exploring the sample documents that are installed Golden Mean. This sketch shows how the Parthenon roughly fits into
with the software, you’ll find even more ideas. Try a Golden Rectangle.
them with your students for a sense of how
Sketchpad can serve your classroom best.
© 2002 Key Curriculum Press Teaching Mathematics with The Geometer’s Sketchpad • 1
encouraging a process of discovery that more closely reflects how mathematics is usually invented: A
mathematician first visualizes and analyzes a problem, making conjectures before attempting a proof.
The Geometer’s Sketchpad established the current generation of educational software that has accelerated the
change begun by The Geometric Supposers and that was spurred on by publications like Discovering Geometry
and the NCTM Standards. Sketchpad’s unique Dynamic Geometry enables students to explore relationships
interactively so that they can see change in mathematical diagrams as they manipulate them. With this
breakthrough, along with the completeness of its construction, transformation, analytic, and algebraic
capabilities—as well as the unbounded extensibility offered by its custom tools—Sketchpad broadens the
scope of what it’s possible to do with mathematics software to an extent never seen before. In the ten years of
its existence, teachers have taken Sketchpad outside the geometry classroom and into algebra, calculus,
trigonometry, and middle-school mathematics courses; and ongoing development of the software has refined
it for these wider uses. The Dynamic Geometry paradigm pioneered by Sketchpad has been so widely
embraced—by mathematics and educational researchers, by teachers across the curriculum, and by millions
of students—that the 2000 edition of the Standards now call for Dynamic Geometry by name. Concurrent
development of Macintosh, Windows, Java, and handheld versions of Sketchpad in a number of different
languages ensures the most powerful and up-to-date geometry tool is always available to a wide variety of
school computing environments throughout the world.
2 • Teaching Mathematics with The Geometer’s Sketchpad © 2002 Key Curriculum Press
testament to the versatility of the software that the same tool can be used by six-year-olds and college
professors to explore new mathematical concepts. (Be sure to browse the sample documents that come
installed with Sketchpad for additional tools that help particularize the program to your classroom needs.
You’ll find tools for constructing regular polygons, defining mathematical symbols, exploring non-Euclidean
geometries, composing and combining functions, and much more.) In this section, we’ll concentrate on ways
Sketchpad might be used in a high school geometry class.
As a high school geometry teacher, you may want to guide your students toward discovering a specific
property or small set of properties, or you may want to pose an open-ended question or problem and ask
students to try to discover as much as they can about it. Alternatively, you may want to prepare for students
an interactive demonstration that models a particular concept. In any case, you’ll want students to collaborate
and communicate their findings. Sketchpad’s annotation features encourage students to articulate
mathematical ideas. Whatever approach you take to using Sketchpad, it can serve as a springboard for
discussion and communication. We’ll look at examples of three approaches to using Sketchpad in the
classroom: a guided investigation, an open-ended exploration, and a demonstration. These three examples
come from Exploring Geometry with The Geometer’s Sketchpad, © 1999 by Key Curriculum Press. (This
publication is available in Canada from Spectrum Educational Supplies.)
© 2002 Key Curriculum Press Teaching Mathematics with The Geometer’s Sketchpad • 3
A Guided Investigation: Napoleon’s Theorem
The purpose of this investigation is to guide students to some specific conjectures. They are given instructions
to construct a figure with certain specifically defined relationships: in this case, a triangle with equilateral
triangles constructed on its sides. Students manipulate their construction to see what relationships they find
that can be generalized for all triangles. After this experimentation, students are asked to write conjectures.
An important aspect of this—
and, in fact, any—Sketchpad
investigation is that by
manipulating a single figure Napoleon’s Theorem Name(s):
French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte fancied himself as something of an
a student can potentially see amateur geometer and liked to hang out with mathematicians. The
every possible case of that theorem you’ll investigate in this activity is attributed to him.
any special cases they’ve 1. Construct segments connecting each vertex of your original triangle
with the most remote vertex of the equilateral triangle on the opposite
discovered, and use your side. What can you say about these three segments?
questions to emphasize
which relationships can be
generalized for all triangles: “Was the Napoleon triangle
always equilateral even as
you changed your original triangle from being acute to being obtuse? Were the three segments you
constructed in Explore More congruent and concurrent no matter what shape triangle you had?” In this
wrap-up you can introduce vocabulary or special names for properties students discover (for example, the
point of concurrency they discover in Explore More is called the Fermat point) and agree as a class on
wording for students’ conjectures as a way of checking for understanding.
4 • Teaching Mathematics with The Geometer’s Sketchpad © 2002 Key Curriculum Press
An Open-Ended Exploration: Constructing Rhombuses
In an open-ended exploration there is not a specific set of properties that students are expected to discover as
outcomes of the lesson. A question or problem is posed with a few suggestions about how to use Sketchpad
to explore the problem. Different students will discover or use different relationships in their constructions
and write their findings in their own words.
In this example, students
are asked to come up with
as many ways as they can
Constructing Rhombuses Name(s):
to construct a rhombus. How many ways can you come up with to D
construct a rhombus? Try methods that use
Again, various construction the Construct menu, the Transform menu, or
B
opportunity to emphasize
the important distinction
between a drawing and a Properties:
construction. For example,
if students have actually
used defining properties Method 3:
of a rhombus in their
constructions, it should be
possible to manipulate their Properties:
figure into any size or shape
rhombus and it should be
impossible to distort the Method 4:
© 2002 Key Curriculum Press Teaching Mathematics with The Geometer’s Sketchpad • 5
A Demonstration: A Visual Demonstration of the Pythagorean Theorem
A teacher (or for that matter, a student) can use Sketchpad to prepare a demonstration for others to use.
Sometimes a complex construction can nicely show a property, but it might be impractical to have all
students do the construction themselves. In that case, teachers might use a demonstration sketch
accompanied by an activity sheet.
Before using this demonstration,
students can actually discover
the Pythagorean theorem
themselves in a guided investi- Visual Demonstration of the
gation. The purpose of this Pythagorean Theorem Name(s):
lesson, though, is as a demon- In this activity, you’ll do a visual demonstration of the Pythagorean
theorem based on Euclid’s proof. By shearing the squares on the sides of a
stration of a visual “proof” of All sketches
referred to in this
right triangle, you’ll create congruent shapes without changing the areas
of your original squares.
the theorem. The sketch used booklet
can be found in
Sketchpad |
in the lesson is a pre-made Samples | Teach-
ing Mathematics
Sketch and Investigate
1. Open the sketch Shear Pythagoras.gsp.
sketch of some complexity. (Sketchpad is
the folder that
contains the You’ll see a right triangle with squares C
Students aren’t expected to application itself.)
on the sides.
create this construction Click on a polygon
interior to select it. 2. Measure the areas of the squares.
Then, in the
themselves to discover the Measure menu,
choose Area.
3. Drag point A onto the line that’s a c
perpendicular to the hypotenuse.
Pythagorean theorem, but Note that as the square becomes a A
b
they have a chance with this parallelogram its area doesn’t change.
6 • Teaching Mathematics with The Geometer’s Sketchpad © 2002 Key Curriculum Press
Using Sketchpad in Different Classroom Settings
Schools use computers in a variety of classroom settings. Sketchpad was designed with this in mind, and its
display features can be optimized for these different settings. Teaching strategies also need to be adapted to
available resources. What follows are some suggestions for using and teaching with Sketchpad if you’re in a
classroom with one computer, one computer and an overhead display device, a handful of computers, or a
computer lab.
A Computer Lab
The experience of teachers in using Sketchpad in the classroom (as well as the experience of teachers using
The Geometric Supposers) suggests that even if enough computers are available for students to work
individually, it’s perhaps best to have students work in pairs. Students learn best when they communicate
about what they’re learning, and students working together can better stimulate ideas and lend help to one
© 2002 Key Curriculum Press Teaching Mathematics with The Geometer’s Sketchpad • 7
another. If you do have students working at their own computers, encourage them to talk about what they’re
doing and to compare their findings with those of their nearest neighbor—they should peek over each others’
shoulders. The suggestions above for students working in small groups apply to students working in pairs as
well.
If your laboratory setting has both Macintosh computers and computers running Windows, your students
can read sketches created on one type of machine with the other. Use PC-formatted disks (Macintoshes can
read them, but Windows PCs cannot read Mac-formatted disks) or a network to exchange documents
between platforms.
8 • Teaching Mathematics with The Geometer’s Sketchpad © 2002 Key Curriculum Press
Using Sketchpad as a Productivity Tool
The Reference Manual describes how to use the Edit menu to cut, copy, and paste Sketchpad objects into other
applications, such as graphics or word processing programs. These features make Sketchpad an extremely
useful productivity tool for anyone, including teachers and students, who wants to easily create and store
geometric figures. Teachers, for example, can create figures in Sketchpad and paste them into a test or
worksheet created in a word processing program. All of the graphics in the sample activities and most of the
graphics in the documentation were created in Sketchpad and pasted into Microsoft Word.
Sketchpad stores objects in the clipboard both as Sketchpad objects, which behave as such when pasted back
into a sketch, and graphic images, which are recognized by virtually any program that deals with graphics.
Sketchpad graphics will act exactly like images produced in most other graphics programs and will give
excellent results when printed. If you’re writing a book or article that will be printed professionally,
Sketchpad graphics can even be output on a typesetting machine with very high quality results. Lines and
rays are truncated when pasted into other programs, just as they are when printed in Sketchpad.
x 5 in.
y y
x
8 cm
10 cm x
y
You can save Sketchpad sketches as libraries of figures that you use
in tests and worksheets. Then you can easily change figures if you
need variations. You can edit labels and type in measurements of
angles and lengths. Even figures that you might find easier to draw
by hand have the advantage, when done with Sketchpad, that they
can be saved, easily modified, and used again and again.
Excircles of a Triangle
© 2002 Key Curriculum Press Teaching Mathematics with The Geometer’s Sketchpad • 9
Geometry with The Geometer’s Sketchpad. These Sketchpad lessons have the same titles and guide students to
the same conjectures as the corresponding Discovering Geometry lessons. A collection of Sketchpad documents
accompany this book on CD-ROM. The Discovering Geometry Teacher’s Resource Book comes with
demonstration sketches corresponding to Discovering Geometry lessons.
Ancillary Sketchpad materials are also available for some secondary texts from other publishers, though for a
geometry course, none provide as complete a technology package as Key Curriculum Press’s Discovering
Geometry combined with The Geometer’s Sketchpad. If you’re using a text other than Discovering Geometry,
ask the publisher whether Sketchpad ancillaries are available.
Exploring Geometry with The Geometer’s Sketchpad, available in Canada from Spectrum Educational Supplies,
contains more than 100 reproducible activities that can be used with any text. A CD-ROM with activities for
Macintosh and Windows computers accompany the activities. Many other topic-specific volumes of activities
are also available from Spectrum Educational Supplies. Sample activities from some of these books are
included in this booklet. These books are listed and described on the back cover of this booklet.
Exploring Geometry could supply a teacher with a year’s worth of activities to cover nearly all the content of a
typical high school geometry course using The Geometer’s Sketchpad. And other activity books could occupy
a large part of the year in other mathematics courses, too. We don’t, however, advocate that you abandon
other teaching methods in favor of using the computer. It’s our belief that students learn best from a variety
of learning experiences. Students need experience with hands-on manipulatives, model building, function
plotting, compass and straightedge constructions, drawing, paper and pencil work, and most importantly,
group discussion. Students need to apply mathematics to real-life situations and see where it is used in art
and architecture and where it can be found in nature. Though Sketchpad can serve as a medium for many of
these experiences, its potential will be reached only when students can apply what they learn with it to
different situations. As engaging as using Sketchpad can be, it’s important that students don’t get the
mistaken impression that mathematics exists only in their books and on their computer screens.
10 • Teaching Mathematics with The Geometer’s Sketchpad © 2002 Key Curriculum Press
Sample Activities
These sample classroom activity masters will give you an idea of some of the types of learning experiences
that are possible using The Geometer’s Sketchpad. In the Teaching Notes, you saw three different types of
lessons from Exploring Geometry with The Geometer’s Sketchpad: an investigation, an exploration, and a
demonstration. Here you’ll find more activities from Exploring Geometry along with samples from other Key
Curriculum Press publications. This collection is neither a complete curriculum nor a comprehensive set of
activities to keep you and your students occupied for a school year.
The topics of the activities range from creating geometric art to calculus. Their difficulty ranges from being
appropriate for middle school students to presenting challenges to college undergraduate math majors. There
are 25 activities here, and you’re obviously not going to be able to use them all with the same class. While we
certainly hope that teachers will find some of the activities in this sample useful in their classes, the collection
here is designed to show you a range of possibilities.
Exploring Geometry contains over 100 activities. That volume does represent a nearly complete curriculum,
though we would caution teachers from overusing it. (See Teaching Notes, page 10.)
The list below shows the names of activities sampled here and the titles of the books they’re from. (The
various books are available in Canada from Spectrum Educational Supplies.)
From Geometry Activities for Middle School Points “Lining Up” in the Plane
Students with The Geometer’s Sketchpad Parabolas in Vertex Form
Angles Reflection in Geometry and Algebra
Constructing a Sketchpad Kaleidoscope Walking Rex: An Introduction to Vectors
From Exploring Geometry with The Geometer’s From Pythagoras Plugged In
Sketchpad
Leonardo da Vinci’s Proof
Properties of Reflection
From Exploring Conic Sections with The
Tessellations Using Only Translations Geometer’s Sketchpad
The Euler Segment The Folded Circle Construction
Napoleon’s Theorem The Expanding Circle Construction
Constructing Rhombuses From Rethinking Proof with The Geometer’s
Midpoint Quadrilaterals Sketchpad
A Rectangle with Maximum Area Distances in an Equilateral Triangle
Visual Demonstration of the Pythagorean Varignon Area
Theorem From Exploring Calculus with The Geometer’s
The Golden Rectangle Sketchpad
A Sine Wave Tracer Visualizing Change: Velocity
From Exploring Algebra with The Geometer’s Going Off on a Tangent
Sketchpad Accumulating Area
Adding Integers
Try some or all of these activities yourself and with your students to explore Sketchpad’s potential and learn
how you can use it in the classroom. (You may reproduce these sheets for use with your classes.) Then join us
in creating the most comprehensive teacher support materials ever to accompany new classroom software—
materials that reflect what teachers and students can accomplish with state-of-the-art teaching and learning
tools.
If you’re interested in contributing worksheets, sample sketches, or custom tools for possible inclusion in
future teacher materials and sample disks, contact the Editorial Department at Key Curriculum Press.
© 2002 Key Curriculum Press Teaching Mathematics with The Geometer’s Sketchpad • 11
Angles
2. Construct a triangle.
Q1 Drag any vertex of the triangle and observe the measures of the interior
angles and their sum.
Write any conjectures based on your exploration.
Q2 Drag any vertex of the triangle and compare the measure of the exterior
angle to the sum of the two remote (nonadjacent) interior angles.
Write any conjectures based on your exploration.
From Geometry Activities for Middle School Students with The Geometer’s Sketchpad
12 • Teaching Mathematics with The Geometer’s Sketchpad © 2002 Key Curriculum Press
Constructing a Sketchpad Kaleidoscope
3. Mark the bottom vertex point of your polygon as the center. Hide the points
and rotate the polygon by an angle of 60°.
a. Click in any blank space to deselect objects.
b. Select the bottom vertex point. Go to the Transform menu and choose
Mark Center.
c. Click on the Point tool. Go to the Edit menu and choose Select All Points.
Go to the Display menu and choose Hide Points.
From Geometry Activities for Middle School Students with The Geometer’s Sketchpad
© 2002 Key Curriculum Press Teaching Mathematics with The Geometer’s Sketchpad • 13
Constructing a Sketchpad Kaleidoscope (continued)
From Geometry Activities for Middle School Students with The Geometer’s Sketchpad
14 • Teaching Mathematics with The Geometer’s Sketchpad © 2002 Key Curriculum Press
Constructing a Sketchpad Kaleidoscope (continued)
c. Using the Compass tool, construct another circle with its center at the
center of your kaleidoscope, but this time let the radius be about half
the radius of your kaleidoscope. Repeat for a circle with a radius about
one-third the radius of your kaleidoscope.
Note: Make sure you release your mouse in a blank space between two arms of your
kaleidoscope. You do not want the outside control points of your circles to be
constructed on any part of your kaleidoscope.
6. Merge points of your kaleidoscope onto the three circles.
a. Click on the Selection Arrow tool. Click in any merged points
blank space to deselect objects.
b. Select one point on the original polygon
near the outside circle and select the outside
circle (do not click on one of the control points of
the circle). Go to the Edit menu
and choose Merge Point To Circle.
c. Click in any blank space to deselect
all objects. Repeat step b. for the middle
circle and a point near the middle circle.
Do this one more time for the smallest
circle and a point near the smallest circle.
7. Animate points of your kaleidoscope on the three
circles.
a. Click in any blank space to deselect all objects.
b. Select the three points you merged onto
circles in the previous step.
c. Go to the Edit menu, choose
Action Button, and drag to the Animate Points
right and choose Animation. Click
on OK in the Animate dialog box.
d. When the Animate Points button appears,
click on it to start the animation. Watch your
kaleidoscope turn!
e. To hide all the points, click on the
Point tool. Go to the Edit menu and choose
Select All Points. Go to the Display menu and choose Hide Points.
Click on the Compass tool, select all the circles, and hide them.
From Geometry Activities for Middle School Students with The Geometer’s Sketchpad
© 2002 Key Curriculum Press Teaching Mathematics with The Geometer’s Sketchpad • 15
Properties of Reflection
When you look at yourself in a mirror, how far away does your image in the
mirror appear to be? Why is it that your reflection looks just like you, but
backward? Reflections in geometry have some of the same properties of
reflections you observe in a mirror. In this activity, you’ll investigate the
properties of reflections that make a reflection the “mirror image” of the
original.
2. Construct point C
to the right of
the line.
Double-click on C' C
the line.
3. Mark dAB as a mirror.
4. Reflect point C to B
construct point C´.
Select the two
points; then, 5. Turn on Trace Points
in the Display for points C and C´.
menu, choose
Trace Points. A
check mark 6. Drag point C so that it traces out your name.
indicates that
the command is Q1 What does point C´ trace?
turned on.
Choose Erase
Traces to erase
your traces.
7. For a real challenge, try dragging point C´ so that point C traces out your
name.
Select points C
Sketch and Investigate: Reflecting Geometric Figures
and C´. In the
Display menu, 8. Turn off Trace Points for
you’ll see
Trace Points points C and C´. E D
checked. Choose B
D'
it to uncheck
it.
9. In the Display menu, choose
Erase Traces.
10. Construct jCDE. E'
Q3 Are a figure and its mirror image always congruent? State your answer as
a conjecture.
Your answer to
Q4 demonstrates Q4 Going alphabetically from C to D to E in jCDE, are the vertices oriented in
that a a clockwise or counterclockwise direction? In what direction (clockwise
reflection
reverses the or counterclockwise) are vertices C´, D´, and E´ oriented in the reflected
orientation
of a figure. triangle?
Line Weight is
in the Display 14. Construct segments connecting
D
menu. each point and its image: C to C´, E
B
segments dashed.
You may wish to
construct Q5 Drag different parts of the sketch E'
points of around and observe relationships between
intersection C
and measure the dashed segments and
distances to
look for
the mirror line. A C'
relation-ships How is the mirror line related to a segment
between the
mirror line and connecting a point and its reflected image?
the dashed
segments.
Explore More
1. Suppose Sketchpad didn’t have a Transform menu. How could you
construct a given point’s mirror image over a given line? Try it. Start with
a point and a line. Come up with a construction for the reflection of the
point over the line using just the tools and the Construct menu. Describe
your method.
2. Use a reflection to construct an isosceles triangle. Explain what
you did.
In this activity, you’ll learn how to construct an irregularly shaped tile based
on a parallelogram. Then you’ll use translations to tessellate your screen with
this tile.
Sketch
1. Construct sAB in the lower left corner of your sketch, C C'
A B A B A B A B
Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Step 7
Explore More
1. Animate your tessellation. To do this, select the original polygon (or any
combination of its vertex points) and choose Animate from the Display
menu. You can also have your points move along paths you construct. To
do this, construct the paths (segments, circles, polygon interiors—
anything you can construct a point on) and then merge vertices to paths.
(To merge a point to a path, select both and choose Merge Point to Path
from the Edit menu.) Select the points you wish to animate and, in the
Edit menu, choose Action Buttons | Animation. Press the Animate button.
Adjust the paths so that the animation works in a way you like, then hide
the paths.
2. Use Sketchpad to make a translation tessellation that starts with a regular
hexagon as the basic shape instead of a parallelogram.
(Hint: The process is very similar; it just involves a third pair of sides.)
9. Construct a segment that contains the three collinear points. This is called
the Euler segment.
Q2 Drag the triangle again and look for interesting relationships on the Euler
segment. Be sure to check special triangles, such as isosceles and right
triangles.
Describe any special triangles in which the triangle centers are related in
interesting ways or located in interesting places.
Q3 Which of the three points are always endpoints of the Euler segment and
which point is always between them?
To measure the
distance 10. Measure the distances along the two parts of the Euler segment.
between two
points, select Q4 Drag the triangle and look for a relationship between these lengths.
the two points.
Then, in the How are the lengths of the two parts of the Euler segment related? Test
Measure menu,
choose your conjecture using the Calculator.
Distance.
(Measuring the
distance
between points
is an easy way
to measure
the length of Explore More
part
of a segment.)
1. Construct a circle centered at the midpoint of the Euler segment and
passing through the midpoint of one of the sides of the triangle. This
circle is called the nine-point circle. The midpoint it passes through is one
of the nine points. What are the other eight? (Hint: Six of them have to do
with the altitudes and the orthocenter.)
2. Once you’ve constructed the nine-point circle, as described above, drag
your triangle around and investigate special triangles. Describe any
triangles in which some of the nine points coincide.
Be sure to
attach each 7. Use the custom tool to construct equilateral
equilateral triangles on each side
triangle to a
pair of of jABC.
triangle ABC’s A C
vertices. If
your
8. Drag to make sure each equilateral triangle
equilateral is stuck to a side.
triangle goes
the wrong
way (overlaps 9. Construct segments connecting the centers
the interior of of the equilateral triangles.
jABC)
or is not
attached 10. Drag the vertices of the original triangle
properly, undo and observe the triangle formed by the
and try
attaching centers of the equilateral triangles. This
it again.
triangle is called the outer Napoleon triangle of jABC.
Q1 State what you think Napoleon’s theorem might be.
Explore More
1. Construct segments connecting each vertex of your original triangle with
the most remote vertex of the equilateral triangle on the opposite side.
What can you say about these three segments?
Method 1:
Properties:
Method 2:
Properties:
Method 3:
Properties:
Method 4:
Properties:
F
If you select
all four sides, 2. Construct the midpoints of the sides.
G
you can C
construct all 3. Connect the midpoints to construct another
four midpoints
at once. quadrilateral, EFGH. A
E
4. Drag vertices of your original quadrilateral
H
and observe the
midpoint quadrilateral. D
6. Construct a diagonal. B F C
Suppose you had a certain amount of fence and you wanted to use it to
enclose the biggest possible rectangular field. What rectangle shape would
you choose? In other words, what type of rectangle has the most area for a
given perimeter? You’ll discover the answer in this investigation. Or, if you
have a hunch already, this investigation will help confirm your hunch and
give you more insight into it.
Q2 As you drag point C, observe what rectangular shape gives the greatest
area. What shape do you think that is?
-10 -5 F G
Select point H
and point C; 14. To see a graph of all possible areas for this rectangle, construct the locus
then, in the of plotted point H as defined by point C. It should now be easy to
Construct menu,
choose Locus. position point C so that point H is at a maximum value for the area of the
rectangle.
You may wish to
select point H Q3 Explain what the coordinates of the high point on the graph are and how
and measure its they are related to the side lengths and area of the rectangle.
coordinates.
15. Drag point C so that point H moves back and forth between the two low
points on the graph.
Q4 Explain what the coordinates of the two low points on the graph are and
how they are related to the side lengths and area of the rectangle.
Explore More
1. Investigate area/perimeter relationships in other polygons. Make a
conjecture about what kinds of polygons yield the greatest area for a
given perimeter.
2. What’s the equation for the graph you made? Let AC be x and let AB be
(1/2)P, where P stands for perimeter (a constant). Write an equation for
area, A, in terms of x and P. What value for x (in terms
of P) gives a maximum value for A?
To confirm that
this shape is
single
congruent, you irregular shape.
can copy and
paste it. Drag
the pasted copy 5. Drag point C so that the large square deforms to fill in the triangle. The
onto the shape area of this shape doesn’t change either. It should appear congruent to
on the legs to
see that the shape you made with the two smaller parallelograms.
it fits
perfectly.
C C
a c a c a c
b b b
A A A
B
B B
To confirm that
this works for Q1 How do these congruent shapes demonstrate the Pythagorean theorem?
any right (Hint: If the shapes are congruent, what do you know about their areas?)
triangle,
change
the shape of
the triangle
and try the
experiment
again.
From Exploring Geometry with The Geometer’s Sketchpad
© 2002 Key Curriculum Press Teaching Mathematics with The Geometer’s Sketchpad • 27
The Golden Rectangle
A D
E
A D F
A E D F
Explore More
A
1. Let the short side of a golden rectangle have
length 1 and the long side have length ø. Write a
proportion, cross-multiply, and
use the quadratic formula to calculate an exact value for ø.
2. Calculate ø 2 and 1/ø. How are these numbers related to ø?
Use algebra to demonstrate why these relationships hold.
E F
C
D
A B
Q2 Drag point E around the circle and describe what point F does.
12. Select the circle; then, in the Graph menu, choose Define Unit Circle. You
should get a graph with the origin at point A. Point B should lie on the x-
axis. The y-coordinate of point F above sAB is the value of the sine of
∠EAD.
E F
C
D B
A 5 10
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 1
0
3. Model three more problems in which you add two negative numbers.
Write your equations (“–2 + –2 = –4,” for example) below.
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 1 2 3 4 5
0
4. Model four more problems in which the sum is zero. Have the first
number be positive in two problems and negative in two problems. Write
your equations below.
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 1 2 3 4 5
0
5. Model six more problems in which you add one positive and one
negative number. Have the first number be positive in three problems
and negative in three. Also, make sure that some problems have positive
answers and others have negative answers. Write your equations below.
Q7 When adding a positive number and a negative number, how can you tell
if the answer will be positive or negative?
Explore More
To commute
means to travel 1. The Commutative Property of Addition says that for any two numbers
back and forth. a and b, a + b = b + a. In other words, order doesn’t matter in addition!
The Commutative
Property of Model two addition problems on your sketch’s number line that
Addition
basically says
demonstrate this property.
that addends can
commute across a. Given the way addition is represented in this activity, why does the
an addition sign
without Commutative Property of Addition make sense?
affecting the
sum. b. Does the Commutative Property of Addition work if one or both
addends are negative? Give examples to support your answer.
are displayed.
To hide
objects, select 4. Hide the points at (0, 0) and
B D
them and choose at (1, 0).
Hide from the -2
Display menu. C
5. Choose Snap Points from the
Graph menu.
From now on, the points will only land
on locations with integer coordinates.
Q1 For each problem, drag the five points to different locations that satisfy
the given conditions. Then copy your solutions onto the grids on the next
page.
For each point,
a. the y-coordinate equals the x-coordinate.
b. the y-coordinate is one greater than the x-coordinate.
c. the y-coordinate is twice the x-coordinate.
d. the y-coordinate is one greater than twice the x-coordinate.
e. the y-coordinate is the opposite of the x-coordinate.
The absolute
value of a f. the sum of the x- and y-coordinates is five.
number is its
“positive
value.”
g. the y-coordinate is the absolute value of the x-coordinate.
The absolute
value of both h. the y-coordinate is the square of the x-coordinate.
5 and –5 is 5.
a. b.
6 6
3 3
-10 -5 5 10 -10 -5 5 10
-3 -3
-6 -6
c. d.
6 6
3 3
-10 -5 5 10 -10 -5 5 10
-3 -3
-6 -6
e. f.
6 6
3 3
-10 -5 5 10 -10 -5 5 10
-3 -3
-6 -6
g. h.
6 6
3 3
-10 -5 5 10 -10 -5 5 10
-3 -3
-6 -6
Backward Thinking
In Q1, you were given descriptions and asked to apply them to points. Here,
we’ll reverse the process and let you play detective.
All sketches
referred to in 6. Open the sketch Line Up.gsp from the folder 2_Lines.
this booklet
can be found in
You’ll see a coordinate system with eight points (A through H), their coordinate
Sketchpad | measurements, and eight action buttons.
Samples | Teach-
ing Mathematics
(Sketchpad is
Q2 For each letter, press the corresponding button in the sketch. Like the
the folder that members of a marching band, the points will “wander” until they form a
contains the
application pattern. Study the coordinates of the points in each pattern, then write a
itself.)
description (like the ones in Q1) for each one.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
Explore More
1. Each of the “descriptions” in this activity can be written as an equation.
For example, part b of Q1 (“the y-coordinate is one greater than the x-
coordinate”) can be written as y = x + 1. Write an equation
for each description in Q1 and Q2.
2. Add your own action buttons to those in Line Up.gsp, then see if
your classmates can come up with descriptions or equations for your
patterns. Instructions on how to do this are on page 2 of the sketch.
f(x) = a⋅(x-h) +k
2
The New Function dialog
box appears. If necessary,
move it so that you can see -5
a = 1.4
P
To enter a, h,
a, h, and k’s measurements.
h = 0.9 xP = 2.5
and k, click on -2
their 3. Enter a*(x–h)^2+k and k = -1.6
measurements in
the sketch. To click OK.
enter x, click
on the x in Sketchpad plots the function for the current values of a, h, and k.
the dialog box.
You’ll now plot the point on the parabola whose x-coordinate is the same as
point P’s.
Choose
Calculate from 4. Calculate f(xP), the value of the function f evaluated at xP.
the Measure
menu. Click on You’ll see an equation for f(xP), the value of the function f evaluated at xP.
the function
equation from 5. Select, in order, xP and f(xP); then choose Plot as (x, y) from the
step 3.
Then click on Graph menu.
xP to enter it.
Now type a A point is plotted on the parabola.
close
parenthesis— Q1 Using paper and pencil or a calculator, show that the coordinates of the
“)”—
and click OK. new point satisfy the parabola’s equation. Write your calculation below.
If the numbers are a little off, explain why this might be.
Q3 Dragging a appears to change all the points on the parabola but one: the
vertex. Change the values of h and k; then adjust a again, focusing on
where the vertex appears to be.
How does the location of the vertex relate to the values of h and k?
Q4 Adjust the sliders for h and k. Describe how the parabola transforms as h
changes. How does that compare to the transformation that occurs as k
changes?
Here’s how the Plot as (x, y) command in the Graph menu works:
Select two measurements and choose the command. Sketchpad plots a point
whose x-coordinate is the first selected measurement and whose
y-coordinate is the second selected measurement.
6. Use Plot as (x, y) to plot the vertex of your parabola.
d. same vertex as the parabola –3(x – 2)2 – 2; contains the point (0, 6)
Q6 The axis of symmetry is the line over which a parabola can be flipped and
still look the same. What is the equation of the axis of symmetry for the
parabola y = 2(x – 3)2 + 1? for y = a(x – h)2 + k?
Q7 Just as your right ear has a corresponding ear across your body’s
axis of symmetry, all points on a parabola (except the vertex) have
corresponding points across its axis of symmetry.
The point (5, 9) is on the parabola y = 2(x – 3)2 + 1. What is the
corresponding point across the axis of symmetry?
Explore More
1. Assume that the point (s, t) is on the right half of the parabola
y = a(x – h)2 + k. What is the corresponding point across the axis of
symmetry? If (s, t) were on the left half of the parabola, what would the
answer be?
2. Use the Perpendicular Line command from the Construct menu to
construct the axis of symmetry of your parabola. Then use the Reflect
command from the Transform menu to reflect point P across the new axis
of symmetry. Measure the coordinates of the new point, P′.
Are they what you expected?
If you’re like most people, you’ve spent at least a little time looking at
yourself in the mirror. So you’re already pretty familiar with reflection.
In this activity, you’ll add to your knowledge on the subject as you explore
reflection from both geometric and algebraic perspectives.
Q3 A point with coordinates (a, b) is reflected across the y-axis. What are the
coordinates of its reflected image?
14. How does the distance between the two reflecting points relate to their
coordinates? Make a prediction. Then select the two points and choose
Coordinate Distance from the Measure menu. Were you right?
A special
challenge is to Q4 A point with coordinates (a, b) is reflected across the y-axis.
make sure your How far is it from its reflected image?
answers to this
question and Q6
work regardless
of what
quadrants the
points are in. 15. Deselect all objects. Then select the point on the y-axis that was merged in
step 11. Choose Split Point From Axis.
The point splits from the y-axis.
16. With the point still selected, select the x-axis as well. Then choose Merge
Point To Axis from the Edit menu.
The x-axis now acts as the mirror line. Drag one of the reflecting points and
observe the various measurements.
Q5 A point with coordinates (c, d ) is reflected across the x-axis.
What are the coordinates of its reflected image?
Explore More
1. Plot the line y = x. Split the point from the x-axis and merge it to
the new line. What do you notice about the coordinates of the reflecting
points?
2. Consider the following transformations (each is separate):
a. Reflect a point over the x-axis, then reflect the image over
the y-axis.
b. Reflect a point over the y-axis, then reflect the image over
the x-axis.
c. Rotate a point by 180° about the origin.
How do these three transformations compare? What would the
coordinates of a point (a, b) be after each of these transformations?
You know, and most everyone over age five knows, that 2 + 2 = 4. No big
shock there. But what if you walk 2 miles north, turn around, then walk
2 miles south—how far have you walked? In one sense, you’ve walked
4 miles—that’s certainly what your feet would tell you. But in another sense,
you haven’t really gotten anywhere. We could say: 2N + 2S = 0.
Values that have both a magnitude (size) and a direction are called vectors.
Vectors are very useful in studying things like the flight of airplanes in wind
currents and the push and pull of magnetic forces. In this activity, you’ll
explore some of the algebra and geometry behind vectors in the context of a
walk with your faithful dog, Rex.
All sketches
referred to in
this booklet
can be found in
Sketchpad | Walk the Dog
Samples | Teach-
ing Mathematics
(Sketchpad is 1. Open the sketch Walk the Dog.gsp from the folder 5_Transform.
the folder that
contains the Rex’s leash is tied to a tree at the origin of an x-y coordinate system. Rex is
application
itself.)
pulling the leash tight as he excitedly waits for you to take him on a walk.
Rex has a head
and tail too,
Rex’s taut leash is represented by a vector—a segment with an arrowhead.
of course, but The end with the arrowhead (Rex) is called the head and the other end (the
those have
nothing to do tree) is called the tail. We’ve labeled this particular vector j.
with the
vector! Q1 One way to define vectors is by their magnitude (length) and direction.
Which of these two quantities stays the same as you drag point Rex?
Q3 A second way to define a vector is by the coordinates of its head when its
tail is at the origin. Use Sketchpad to find the magnitude and direction of
the following vectors:
a. vector j = (5, 0)
b. vector k = (3, 4)
c. vector l = (0, –5)
d. vector m = (–3, –4)
Q4 Rex is terrified of ladybugs. Suppose a ladybug is sitting at (5, 0). Where
should Rex move to face the opposite direction and be as far from it as
possible? What if the ladybug moves to (3, –4)?
Now it’s time to untie the leash from the tree and take Rex for a walk.
2. Go to the second page of Walk the Dog.gsp: Walk 1.
Rex is a very determined dog! As you walk him, he pulls the leash taut and
always tries to steer you in the same direction (toward an interesting scent
perhaps). Rex is still at the head of vector j (where the arrowhead is) and
now you’re at the tail.
Q5 Drag vector j around the screen. Explain why, no matter where you drag
it, vector j is always the same vector. Use one of the two methods for
defining vectors we’ve discussed to support your argument.
Q6 Suppose you stood at the point (80, 80). Where would Rex be standing?
Explain how you found your answer. (Don’t scroll or use Sketchpad’s
menus—all the information you need is on the screen.)
3. Go to the third and fourth pages of Walk the Dog.gsp: Walk 2
and Walk 3.
You’ll see that Rex is heading in different directions on these pages. The
information presented on screen is also a little different for each page.
Q7 As in Q6, determine where Rex will be standing when you’re at
(80, 80) for Walk 2 and Walk 3. Explain your reasoning in each case.
Q8 Answer Q7 again, this time assuming that you have a leash twice as long
and Rex heads in the same directions.
Construct
In this figure,
you don’t have 1. Construct a right triangle and squares B
a c
b
C A
H
Show reflection
7. Mark H as center and rotate the entire figure (not the action buttons) by
180° around H.
8. Select all the objects making up the rotated half of this figure and create a
Hide/Show action button. Relabel this button to read
“Hide rotation” but don’t hide the rotated half yet.
a c
b b
C A
H
C'
A'
B'
Show reflection
Hide rotation
a c
c
b b
C A
H
C'
A'
B'
Show reflection
Hide rotation
Hide c squared
Investigate
From going through this construction, you may have a good idea of how
Leonardo’s proof goes. Press all the hide buttons, then play through the
buttons in this sequence: “Show reflection,” “Show rotation,” “Hide
reflection,” “Show c squared.” You should see the transformation from two
right triangles with squares on the legs into two identical right triangles with
a square on their hypotenuses. Explain to a classmate or make a presentation
to the class to explain Leonardo’s proof of the Pythagorean theorem.
Prove
Leonardo’s is another of those elegant proofs where the figure tells pretty
much the whole story. Write a paragraph that explains why the two hexagons
have equal areas and how these equal hexagons prove the Pythagorean
theorem.
From Exploring Conic Sections with The Geometer’s Sketchpad
© 2002 Key Curriculum Press Teaching Mathematics with The Geometer’s Sketchpad • 47
The Folded Circle Construction
Questions
Q1 The creases on your circle seem to form the outline of an ellipse.
What appear to be its focal points?
Q2 If you were to move point B closer to the edge of the circle and fold
another curve, how do you think its shape would compare to the
first curve?
Q3 If you were to move point B closer to the center of the circle and fold
another curve, how do you think its shape would compare to the
first curve?
Retracing creases for each location of point B is certainly faster than folding
new circles. But we can do better. Ideally, your crease lines should relocate
automatically as you drag point B. Sketchpad’s powerful Locus command
makes this possible.
17. Turn tracing off for your original crease line by selecting it and once
again choosing Trace Line from the Display menu.
18. Now select your crease line and point C. Choose Locus from the
Construct menu. An entire set of creases will appear: the locus of crease
locations as point C moves along its path. If you drag point B, you’ll see
that the crease lines readjust automatically.
19. Save your sketch for possible future use. Give it a descriptive name such
as Creased Circle.
Questions
Q4 How does the shape of the curve change as you move point B closer to
the edge of the circle?
Q5 How does the shape of the curve change as you move point B closer to
the center of the circle?
The Merge and
Split commands Q6 Select point B and the circle. Then merge point B onto the circle’s
appear in the circumference. Describe the crease pattern.
Edit menu.
Q7 Select point B and split it from the circle’s circumference. Then merge it
with the circle’s center. Describe the crease pattern.
Playing Detective
Each crease line on your circle touches the ellipse at exactly one point.
Another way of saying this is that each crease is tangent to the ellipse. By
engaging in some detective work, you can locate these tangency points and
use them to construct just the ellipse without its creases.
All sketches
referred to in 20. Open the sketch Folded Circle.gsp. You’ll see a thick crease line and its
this booklet
can be found in
locus already in place.
Sketchpad |
Samples | Teach- 21. Drag point C and notice that the crease line remains tangent to the ellipse.
ing Mathematics
(Sketchpad is The exact point of tangency lies at the intersection of two lines—the
the folder that
contains the
crease line and another line not shown here. Construct
application this line in your sketch as well as the point of tangency, point E.
itself.)
Select the
locus 22. Select point E and point C and choose Locus from the Construct menu. If
and make its
width thicker
you’ve identified the tangency point correctly, you
so that it’s should see a curve appear precisely in the white space bordered
easier to see.
by the creases.
How to Prove It
C I
The Folded Circle construction seems
to generate ellipses. Can
you prove that it does? Try
developing a proof on your E
own, or work through the B
following steps and questions.
The picture at right should A
resemble your construction.
Line HI (the perpendicular H
bisector of segment CB)
represents the crease formed
when point C is folded onto
point B. Point E sits on the
curve itself.
23. Add segments CB, BE, and AC to the picture.
24. Label the intersection of CB with the crease line as point D.
Questions
Q8 Use a triangle congruence theorem to prove that jBED m jCED.
3. The sketch Tangent Circles.gsp in the Ellipse folder shows a red circle c3
that’s simultaneously tangent to circles c1 and c2. Press the Animate button
and observe the path of point C, the center of circle c3. Can you prove that
C traces an ellipse?
x- and y-axes. C
2
2. Label the origin as point A.
A
3. Choose the Compass tool. Click -5
E F
5
on the y-axis above the origin -2
B
For every new location of point B, you need to retrace your curve.
Ideally, your parabola should adjust automatically as you drag point B.
Sketchpad’s powerful Locus command makes this possible.
11. Turn tracing off for points G and H by selecting them and once again
choosing Trace Intersections from the Display menu.
12. Now select points G and C. Choose Locus from the Construct menu. Do
this again for points H and C. You’ll form an entire curve: the locus of
points G and H. Drag point B to vary the shape of the curve.
Questions
Q1 As you drag point B, which features of the curve stay the same? Which
features change?
Q2 The creator of this technique, Ibn Sina, didn’t, of course, have Sketchpad
available to him in the tenth century! How would
this construction be different if you used a compass and
straightedge instead?
The Geometric Mean
It certainly looks like the Expanding Circle method draws parabolas,
but to prove why, you’ll need to know a little about geometric means.
The geometric mean x of two numbers, a and b, is equal to ab .
Equivalently, x2 = ab.
x
a b
All sketches
referred to in
this booklet can
be found in Sketchpad | Samples | Teach-ing Mathematics
(Sketchpad is
the folder that contains the application itself.)
13. Open the sketch Geometric Mean.gsp.
You’ll see a circle whose diameter
consists of two segments with lengths
a and b laid side to side. A chord
perpendicular to the diameter is
split into equal segments of length x.
G D H = (x, y)
6
2
C
E A = (0, 0) F
-5 5
-2
B (0, -3)
Questions
The questions that follow provide a step-by-step guided proof. You can
answer them or first write your own proof without any hints.
AF =
AD =
Q5 Use your knowledge of geometric means to write an equation relating the
lengths of AB, AF, and AD. Is this the equation of a parabola?
Q6 Give an argument to explain why point G also traces a parabola.
Explore More
1. Open the sketch Right Angle.gsp. Angle DEB is constructed to be a right
angle. Drag point E and observe the trace of point G and its reflection G′.
Explain why this sketch is essentially the same as the Expanding Circle
construction.
From Exploring Conic Sections with The Geometer’s Sketchpad
54 • Teaching Mathematics with The Geometer’s Sketchpad © 2002 Key Curriculum Press
Distances in an Equilateral Triangle
C
A shipwreck survivor manages to swim to a
desert island.
As it happens, the island closely approximates
the shape of an equilateral triangle. She soon
discovers that the surfing is outstanding on
all three of the island’s coasts. She crafts a surfboard
A B
from a fallen tree and surfs every
day. Where should she build her house so that
the sum of the distances from her house to all
three beaches is as small as possible? (She visits each beach with equal
frequency.) Before you proceed further, locate a point in the triangle at the
spot where you think she should build her house.
Conjecture
All sketches
referred to in 1. Open the sketch Distance.gsp. Drag point P to experiment with your
this booklet sketch.
can
be found in
Sketchpad | Q1 Press the button to show the distance sum. Drag point P around the
Samples | Teach- interior of the triangle. What do you notice about the sum of the
ing Mathematics
(Sketchpad is distances?
the folder that
contains the
application
itself.)
Q2 Drag a vertex of the triangle to change the triangle’s size. Again, drag
point P around the interior of the triangle. What do you notice now?
Explaining
You are no doubt convinced that the total
sum of the distances from point P to all
a
three sides of a given equilateral triangle is always
h1
constant, as long as P is an interior h3
P
point. But can you explain why this is true? h2
a
Although further exploration in Sketchpad
might succeed in convincing you even more a
fully of the truth of your conjecture, it would only
confirm the conjecture’s truth without providing an
explanation. For example, the observation that the
sun rises every morning does not explain why this is true. We have to try to
explain it in terms of something else, for example the rotation of the earth
around the polar axis.
Recently, a mathematician named Mitchell Feigenbaum made some
experimental discoveries in fractal geometry using a computer, just as you
have used Sketchpad to discover your conjecture about a point inside an
equilateral triangle. Feigenbaum’s discoveries were later explained by
Lanford and others. Here’s what another mathematician had to say about all
this:
Lanford and other mathematicians were not trying to validate Feigenbaum’s
results any more than, say, Newton was trying to validate the discoveries of
Kepler on the planetary orbits. In both cases the validity of the results was
never in question. What was missing was the explanation. Why were the
orbits ellipses? Why did they satisfy these particular relations? . . . there’s a
world of difference between validating and explaining.
—M. D. Gale (1990), in The Mathematical
Intelligencer, 12(1), 4.
Challenge
Use another sheet of paper to try to logically explain your conjecture
from Q4. After you have thought for a while and made some notes,
use the steps and questions that follow to develop an explanation of
your conjectures.
Q6 Write an expression for the area of each small triangle using a and the
variables h1, h2, and h3.
Q7 Add the three areas and simplify your expression by taking out any
common factors.
Q8 How is the sum in Q7 related to the total area of the equilateral triangle?
Write an equation to show this relationship using A for
the area of the equilateral triangle.
Q9 Use your equation from Q8 to explain why the sum of the distances
to all three sides of a given equilateral triangle is always constant.
Q10 Drag P to a vertex point. How is the sum of the distances related to the
altitude of the original triangle in this case?
Q11 Explain why your explanation in Q5–Q9 would not work if the triangle
were not equilateral.
Further Exploration
1. Construct any triangle ABC and an arbitrary point P inside it. Where
should you locate P to minimize the sum of the distances to all three sides
of the triangle?
In this activity, you will compare the area of a quadrilateral to the area of
another quadrilateral constructed inside it.
B F C
Conjecture
All sketches E
referred to in 1. Open the sketch Varignon.gsp and
G
this booklet drag vertices to investigate the shapes A
can be found in
Sketchpad | in this sketch. H
Samples | Teach- D
ing Mathematics Q1 Points E, F, G, and H are midpoints
(Sketchpad is
the folder that of the sides of quadrilateral ABCD.
contains the
application Describe polygon EFGH.
itself.)
2. Press the appropriate button to show the areas of the two polygons you
described. Drag a vertex and observe the areas.
Q2 Describe how the areas are related. You might want to find their ratio.
Q3 Drag any of the points A, B, C, and D and observe the two area
measurements. Does the ratio between them change?
C
A G
Q5 Write your discoveries so far as one or H
more conjectures. Use complete sentences. D
Q6 You probably can think of times when something that always appeared
to be true turned out to be false at times. How certain are you that your
conjecture is always true? Record your level of certainty on the number
line and explain your choice.
convincing proof. If you suspect your conjecture is not always true, try to
supply counterexamples.
Proving
In the picture, you probably observed that quadrilateral EFGH is a
parallelogram. You also probably made a conjecture that goes something like
this:
The area of the parallelogram formed by connecting the midpoints of
the sides of a quadrilateral is half the area of the quadrilateral.
This first conjecture about quadrilateral EFGH matches a theorem of
geometry that is sometimes called Varignon’s theorem. Pierre Varignon was a
priest and mathematician born in 1654 in Caen, France. He is known for his
work with calculus and mechanics, including discoveries that relate fluid
flow and water clocks.
The next three steps will help you verify that quadrilateral EFGH is a
parallelogram. If you have verified this before, skip to Q10.
Q7 Construct diagonal AC. How are sEF B
F
and sHG related to sAC? Why? E C
A G
H
Q8 Construct diagonal BD. How are sEH D
Q11 According to your conjecture, how should the total area of the regions
you described in Q10 compare to the area of EFGH?
3. Press the button to translate the midpoint B
E F F'
C
A
G'
Q14 Explain why the relationship you described in H
G
D
Q13 must be true.
Q16 Explain why the relationship you described in Q15 must be true.
Q18 Explain why the relationship you described in Q17 must be true.
Q19 You have one more triangle to account for. Explain how this last triangle
fits into your explanation.
Further Exploration
Which part of your proof does not work for concave quadrilaterals? Try to
redo the proof so that it explains the concave case as well. (Hint: Drag point C
until quadrilateral ABCD is concave.)
There are many ways to create motion or move an object. You could control
where the object is located—its position—by dragging it around, or you could
control how fast or slow the object moves—its speed.
Velocity is related to speed but it provides more information. If you know
your velocity, you really know
two things—how fast you are
moving (speed) and the direction
you are heading. Can knowing
the velocity of an object tell you
anything else? Are there any
relationships or patterns between
position and velocity? In this
activity you will start to answer
these questions by moving a
point, controlling its velocity with a slider.
Q2 You can drag point Me2d any way you’d like, but dragging in certain
directions doesn’t make sense given the way time works in our universe.
How do you have to drag point Me2d so that it represents a physically
possible motion of point Me?
Now we want to bring in velocity and see what
effect it has.
3. Press the Show Controls button.
You should see two sliders, one for velocity and
one for a time interval. There is also a new point
labeled FutureMe. This point is located one time
interval away at the position you would reach if your velocity stayed
From Exploring Calculus with The Geometer’s Sketchpad
63 • Teaching Mathematics with The Geometer’s Sketchpad © 2002 Key Curriculum Press
Visualizing Change: Velocity (continued)
constant. The deltaT slider is set at 1 and the velocity slider should be set at 2.
So point FutureMe should be to the right 1 unit and up 2 units.
Q3 If you change deltaT to 0.5 and keep the velocity the same, what will
happen to point FutureMe? Try it and see.
Q4 Move the deltaT slider to various time intervals. Does point FutureMe
move in any particular pattern? What happens to point Me or point Me2d
when you change just the time interval? Why is that?
Q5 Set deltaT back to 1 and now move the velocity slider to various values.
Does point FutureMe move in any particular pattern? What happens to
point Me or point Me2d when you change just the velocity? Why is that?
The Start Motion button will start both points
moving in relationship to the set velocity and
time intervals.
Select point
Me2d, then 4. Press the Reset button to set time back
choose to 0.
Trace Point
from the
Display menu. 5. Turn on tracing for point Me2d.
You can also
change the 6. Set the velocity slider to 2 and the deltaT
color of your
selected point slider back to 1.
and trace in
the Color For these first trials, you won’t change the velocity slider once your point is
submenu of the
Display menu. moving. Predict what kind of position trace you’ll get if your velocity (speed
and direction) stays the same. Sketch this prediction in the margin.
Q6 Press the Start Motion button and observe point Me’s motion and point
Me2d’s corresponding time/position trace. Press the button again to stop
the motion. Describe your trace. (Was it what you predicted?)
Q7 Press the Reset button, but do not clear your trace. Instead, change the
velocity slider to 0.5 and make point Me2d a different color. Make a
prediction, and then press the Start Motion button again. What happened
this time? How are your traces different? How are they the same?
Q8 Repeat Q7, but this time set your velocity slider to a negative value. Any
idea what will happen? Press the Start Motion button again. What
happened this time? How are your traces different? How are they the
same?
Q9 What conclusions can you reach about movement and position traces
when velocity is constant over a time interval?
Q10 What are the equations for the different traces you see on your screen?
What would the equation for the trace be if velocity were set to 0?
For the next set of trials, you will change the velocity
of point Me while time is changing. The smaller the
time interval, the more accurate the trace, so set deltaT
To hide a
point, select as close to 0.1 as possible and hide point FutureMe.
the point and You can change the velocity slider to any value you
then choose
Hide Plotted wish, but try each of these suggested experiments as
Point from the
Display menu. well. For each experiment, draw a little sketch of your
trace in the margin. Remember to choose Erase Traces
from the Display menu and press the Reset button
when you want to start over. It is also a good idea to
change the color of point Me2d for each trace.
A. Start with the velocity at a positive value. Increase the velocity, and then
decrease the velocity, but keep it positive throughout the experiment.
B. Start with the velocity at a negative value. Increase the velocity, and then
decrease the velocity, but keep it negative throughout the experiment.
(Remember that –2 to –1 is an increase!)
C. Start with velocity > 2. Decrease the velocity, and then increase it. Again,
keep the velocity positive throughout.
D. Start with –1 < velocity < 0. Decrease the velocity, and then increase it, but
again, keep the velocity negative throughout.
E. Start with a positive velocity and decrease to a negative value. Then
increase the velocity again until you get to 0. Stay at 0 for a while and
then increase the velocity again.
Q11 How are the traces in A and B similar? How are they different? What
happens to the position trace when you switch from increasing the
velocity to decreasing it?
Q12 How are the traces in C and D similar?
How are they different? What happens
to the position trace when you switch
from decreasing the velocity to
increasing it?
Q13 How are the traces in A and C similar?
How are they different? What about B
and D?
Q14 What happened when you changed the velocity from positive to
negative? From negative to positive? What happened when you stayed at
velocity = 0?
Q15 For each of the following, describe the position trace that you would get.
Then check your answer using the velocity slider.
a. positive and increasing velocity
b. negative and increasing velocity
c. positive and decreasing velocity
d. negative and decreasing velocity
Explore More
Go to page 2 of the sketch. Press the Show
Path1 button. Using your answers from Q15
for reference, make a trace trying to match
the path as closely as you can. During
which part of your trace did you have to go
the fastest? When did you move the
slowest?
Hide Path 1 and press the Show Path2
button. Again, try to match the path as
closely as you can.
What is different about Path 2? Which one was easier to trace? Is it possible to
trace Path 2’s corners?
Explore More
Each of the following functions has some interesting problems or
characteristics. For each one, change the equation for f (x) as you did in
step 3 above and answer the questions below. If you need to zoom in at a
point, press the Show Zoom Tools button. Remember that (a, b) represents
the point you will zoom in on. To change a or b, double-click on the
measurement and enter a new value.
1. f1 (x) = x − 2
2. f 2(x) = x 2 − 6x + 8
3. f 3(x) = x − 1
Q1 Where does the derivative not exist for f1(x) and why? (What happens
to the tangent line at that point?)
2
Q2 Answer Q1 for f 2(x) = x − 6x + 8 .
Q4 How is the function f1 (x) = x − 2 different from all the others that
you have looked at in this activity, including f 2 and f 3?
2. To check this with the Area tools, press the Show Area Tools button.
There are three new points on the x-axis—points start, finish, and P. Points
P and start should be at the origin. Point P will sweep out the area under
the curve from point start to point finish. Point P has not moved yet, so the
measurement AreaP is 0.
3. Press the Calculate Area button to calculate the area between f and the
x-axis on the interval [start, finish] and to shade in that region.
From Exploring Calculus with The Geometer’s Sketchpad
70 • Teaching Mathematics with The Geometer’s Sketchpad © 2002 Key Curriculum Press
Q1 Is the value of the measurement AreaP close to 6 + π? Why isn’t it
exactly 6 + π or even 9.142?
4
Q2 Based on the above reasoning, evaluate ∫−2 f (x) dx .
Before you move
the point, 4. Check your answer by moving point start to point B, pressing the
check the Reset button, and then pressing the Calculate Area button.
Status Line to
make sure you
have selected Q3 What do you think will happen to the area measurement if you switch
the right −2
point. If you
haven’t, click
the order of the integral, in other words, what is ∫4 f (x) dx ?
on the point
again. 5. Choose Erase Traces from the Display menu.
6. Check your answer by moving point start to x = 4 and point finish as
close as you can get to x = –2, pressing the Reset button, the Esc key,
and then the Calculate Area button.
Q4 What is the area between f and the x-axis from x = 4 to x = –2?
Now, what happens if your function goes below the x-axis? For example,
6
suppose you want to evaluate ∫4 f (x) dx .
Q5 Translate the integral into a statement about areas.
To get an idea of how this area function behaves as point P moves along
the x-axis, you’ll plot the point (xP, A(xP)) and let Sketchpad do the work.
Explore More
Will the area function’s shape change if you move point start to a value
other than x = –6?
1. Select point start and move it along the x-axis.
Q1 Does the area function’s shape change when your starting point is
shifted along the x-axis? If so, how? If not, what changes, and why?
Q2 Write a conjecture in words for
how the two area functions
xP xP
∫−6 f (x)dx and ∫x start
f (x)dx are
related.
2. Make a new shape for your
area function by moving one
or more points—point A, B, D, E, or F. Then move point start again
along the x-axis.
Q3 Does your conjecture from Q2 still hold? Write your conjecture in
integral notation.
3. Fix point start at the origin. Move point P to the left of the origin but to
the right of point B.
Q4 The following two sentences sound good, but lead to a contradiction.
Where is the error?
The semicircle is above the x-axis from the origin to point P, so the
area is positive. Point I, which plots the area, is below the
x-axis, so the area is negative.
© 2002 Key Curriculum Press Activity Notes—Teaching Geometry with The Geometer’s Sketchpad • 74