GSP Project!

My project: My question was what polygons can you construct with GSP and show how you construct them. I have decided to construst seven polygons. The polygons are a equilateral triangle, a right triangle,a isosceles right triangle, a rhombus, a square, a parallogram, and a rectangle. Procedure: Equilateral Triangle Start with two circles see figure 1

then draw a segment connecting the centers of the circes (which are red see figure 1 above) ,

Then connect the intersection of the two circles with a segment to each circle center see figure below. Note: Make sure that both circles are highlighted when

you are at the intersection. As you can see below I have measured the sie lengths. This is my extension to this project, i will show calculations to show the properties of the polygons I construct. Extension: An equilateral triangle has three equal sides.

Right Triangle First draw a line segment I chose to draw mine horizontal see figure below.

Then highlight the line and one of its points and construct a perpendicular line from the construct menu.

Then draw another segment from the ther point of your first segment to the perpedicular line. This gives you a rigt triangle. Extension: in the figure below

I measured the angles to show that a right triangle has a 90 degree angle. The letter H is the right angle in this example.

Isoseles Right Triangle Draw a circle then connect the center point of the circle to a point on the circle, see figure below.

Then highlight the center point and the segment and draw a perpendicular line from the construct menu like before. Then connect the two segments on the circle. Extension: I have calculated the side lengths and the angle measures to show that a isosceles right triangle has a 90 degree angle and the two segments connecting at this angle at the same length.

Rhombus Start with two circles like in figure 1 then draw a third circle from one side of one circle to the center of that same circle see figure below.

Draw one segment connecting the two centers of the two circles then a segment connecting the two centers of the third circle see figure below.

Then connect the intersection of the two outer circles with segments. This is the rhombus. Extension: I have measured the side lengths and the angles. Rhombus have all equal sides.

Square Start with two circles line in figure 1 then draw a segment connecting the two circles line in figure 2 then highlight the segment and one point and construct a perpendicular line from the construct menu. Do the same for the other point and the same line segment see figure below.

Then connect the two perpendicular lines where they touch the top of the two circles. Note: make sure both the circle and the perpendicular line is highlighted when drawing your segment. The figure below shows the square. Extension: The figure below also shows the side lengths, the angle measures, and a table showing that even when you change the lengths of the sides the angles also stay 90 degrees.

Parallelogram First draw a segment, mine is horizontal. Then construct a point and highlight the point and the segment and construct a parallel line see figure below.

Then draw a segment from the point on the parallel line to the drawn segment. Then highlight the point from the first segment and the newly drawn segment and construct a parallel line see figure below.

Rectangle Start with a segment, highlight the segment and a point, construct a perpendicular line then highlight the segment and the other end point and construct another perpendicular line see figure below.

Draw a point above the segment and between the two parallel lines. Extension: The figure shows that angle measures are 90 degrees and that a rectangle has two pairs of sides that are the same length.

Extensions: My extension was to add side length measurements and angle measurements to each polygon constructed to show why these are the general polygons, meaning they will pass the drag test and will always have the same properties. What I learned: I learned how to construct different polygons and how to teach someone how to construct them through writing step by step how to do the constructions. I have learned how to use other geometrical figures to construct polygons. For example I used circles to construct many of the polygons. Implications for the Classroom: I can use GSP to let my students discover the properties for different polygons. With GSP they can measure side lengths and different angles and use this to see

the different properties and how they will always hold true for different sizes of the same polygon. Also I can use GSP myself to make tests and models for my students to look at. Objectives that can be covered by GSP are:

Demonstrate competency with measurement tools ALCOS 17, TeamMath M1. Classify types of triangles ALCOS 8, Team-Math G2. Apply angle properties of triangles ALCOS 8, Team-Math G6. Apply properties of parallel lines, similar polygons, and similar triangles including use of scale factors and proportions ALCOS 3a, 5 Team-Math G2. Determine the measures of interior and exterior angles associated with polygons and verify formulas ALCOS 4, 4a, Team-Math M2, M2a Identify quadrilaterals from verbal descriptions of properties and apply properties ALCOS 3, 12, Team-Math G1, A1a.