Problem:ForthisPOW,wewereinstructedtofigureoutthemaximumnumberofpiecesthat

canbeproducedfromacirclewithagivenamountofstraightlines.Weweregiventhe
answersfor1,2,and3linesandatabletogoalong.Basedonthefollowingdiagrams,we
thenhadtodiscoverthemissing4AND5lines.Alongwiththis,wealsohadtofigureouttwo
patternswhichwerehiddeninboththetable,andthediagrams.

NumberofCuts(x)

Max.numberof
pieces(y)

Wefiguredout4and5bytrialanderror.Butfinally,weendedwith11and16pieces.

So,oursolutiontableis:

Numberofcuts(x)

Max.numberofpieces
(y)

11

16

22

29

37

46

10

56

Process:TocompletethisPOWtheinitialstepwehadtotakewastobreaktheactual
problemdowntoitsmostsimpleform.Thefirstweneededtodiscoverapatternthatwould
enabletoknowthemaxnumberofpiecesforthetwomissingdiagrams.Todosowecreated
atablethatrepresentswhatthispatternisandhowitworks.Thisenabledustoknowexactly
theamountofmaximumnumberofpiecesandgaveustheabilitytoconstructsaiddiagrams.
Thesecondpatternwediscoveredwasactuallyinsidethediagrams,andweendedup
stumblinguponthispatternwhilemessingaroundwithwaystogetthenumbersixteenasthe
maximumnumberofpieces.Thefollowingexampleistoshowwhatourdiscoverywas:

Solution:Aftercompletingthisproblem,wecameuponapattern.Thepatternis:
Foreverynumberofcuts,youactuallyADDonenumbertothemaxnumberofpieces.For
example,ifwehave2asthenumberofcuts,and3asthemaxnumberofpieces,thenyou
willadd1tothemaxnumberofpiecesforthenextnumberofcuts.Uponfurtherdiscovery,
wefoundthattheactualdiagramsdidinfactfollowapatternaswell.inthefirstdiagram,there
isonelinedrawnacrossthecircle.Throughouttherestofthediagrams,theonelinestaysin
itssameplace.Thisappliestoeverylinedrawn!Ifyouareconfused,gobackandlookatthe
diagramsandapplythisrule!Wealsothendiscoveredaformula,withthehelpofCaitlyn,
whichwouldenableustofindanymaximumnumberofcutsandnumberofcuts.The
equationisasfollows:

y=ax+bx+c
where
a=.5
b=.5
c=1
r=1

Example(forfirstpattern):

Evaluation:
Corry:ThisPOWwasnotonlyapuzzletofigureout,butwewereallablereconsidertheway
weeachindividuallythinkaboutmath.Itsuncannyjusthowmanypatternscanbefoundin
everydaymathproblems.ThisPOWwasinfactagreatexperienceandweallactually
ENJOYEDputtingthepiecesofthepuzzletogether.Definitelyeducationallyworthwhile.It
alsoaddedanaspectofteamworkandcollaborationworkingwithmorethanonepartner,
whichwefoundtobeveryconstructiveandhelpful.Thisenabledustoworkasateamand
quicklyfindasolution.Therewere,however,timeswhenindividualswereofftask,and
ultimatelydidntproducemuchwork.AsateammateIwouldnotethatAngelawasproducing
alotofhelpfulideas,andputalotofworkin,howeverPerrindidnotseemtodothesame,

andoftenhadtoberemindedtostayontrack.Yetdespitethefewdifficulties,wethink,given
theeffortanddedicationweallputforth,wedeserveasolid23outof25.

Angela:InthisPOW,wewerechallengedtonoticepatternsanddecipheranequationto
figureouthowthepatternwouldcontinue.Asagroupofthree,weallstartedoffonthree
differentroadstofiguretheproblemout,butthencametothesamesolution.Throughthis,I
realizedthattherearemanywaysofproblemsolving.Workinginagroupofthreewas,Ithink,
averygoodexperience.Yougetinputthanyouwouldwithonlyoneotherperson.Also,
togetherwefiguredouthowtosolvetheproblemefficientlyandcouldwriteourbestprocess
downinthispaper.ThroughthisPOWIlearnedhowtouseacalculatortofindanequation
andincludeeverybodysideasandwaysofproblemsolving.Forthispaper,Iwouldgiveusa
21/25becausewerestatedtheproblemwell,describedourprocesswithquality/easytofollow
visuals,andstatedourconclusionwithevidence.Overall,IdidenjoythiscertainPOW,even
thoughPOWsarenotmyfavorite,andIdidlearnsomeveryhelpfulmathematicaland
communicationskills.

Perrin:Intheend,thisPOWhelpedmegainvaluableknowledgeonpatternsandsituations
whichmayseemrelativelyeasier,butturnouttobeachallenge.Itwasinterestingtolookat
thissmallexampleandthinkhowmanyrealworldsituationsitcanbeappliedtoo.For
example,whensharingfoodIcanapplythisknowledge.Theotherthingthatwhatfuntogain
knowledgeonwasmakingequationswithagivenamountofinformation.ThisissomethingI
hadpreviouslyworkedon,buthadnotlearnedhowtoputtogetheruntilnow.Overall,Ibelieve
thisPOWwentprettywell,butIhadsometroubleworkinginathreemanteam.IfIwastoodo
itagainIwouldeitherworkbymyselforonlyoneotherpersonbecauseitwouldhelpme
focus.FortheoverallscoreIbelieveourteamdeservesa23/25becausetheworkwas
thoroughandwellorganized.

Extension:Weweregiventheanswersfor1,2,and3linesandatabletogoalong.Based
onthefollowingdiagrams,wethenhadtodiscoverthemissing4AND5lines.Alongwiththis,
wealsohadtofigureouttwopatternswhichwerehiddeninboththetable,andthediagrams.
Tochangethisproblemwecouldtryfindingthemaximumpieceswithinatriangle.Thiswould
workinaverysimilarway.Youwouldstartwithonelineandtaketheoutputofthat.You
wouldthencontinuewithmorecutsandlooktofindthemaximumnumberofpiecesyoucan
get.Thelaststepwouldbetotaketheresultsandwriteanequationsimilartothefirstone.

Love,

Corry&Angela&Perrin(butESPECIALLYPerrin)...