The student was asked to create a 1 square meter shape using tape and newspaper and then change its perimeter while keeping the area the same. They made an original square shape with an area of 1m2 and perimeter of 4m. For the new shape, they created a triangle with the same area of 1m2 but a greater perimeter of 4.87m, showing conservation of area. The student learned about perimeter and area and wants to investigate further.

1. My Square Meter Investigation
The Task:
I was asked to make 1 square meter, using tape, pencils, measuring tapes,
scissors and newspaper. Then, I needed to change the perimeter of the shape,
but keep the area the same. This is calledconservation of area.
It was a fun investigation because I made a new shape that I would never do at
home. I also like to doingit in a group, like we were a community. It was
challenging for me because it was hard to measure the area if it didn’t have sides.
Original Shape:
The dimensions of my shape were 1m x 1m, or
100cm by 100cm. This shape was a square. It
had an area of 1m2 or 10,000cm2. It had a
perimeter of 400cm or 4m.
New Shape:
My new shape was a triangle.The area
of my new shape was still 1m2 or
10,000cm2. I know this because I didn’t
lose the area of the newspaper. The
perimeter of my new shape isgreater
than the original. It is 487cm or 4.87m. I
worked this out by measuring all the
sidethen adding all of the numbers of
the sides together.I think the new
perimeter is greater because the side
length is longer than the original shape
and thebottom part make the shape is
greater.
Reflection:
During this investigation, I learned what perimeter and area mean. It made me
think that perimeter is addingall the sides and area is length ×width (for
rectangles). I enjoyed making the original and the new shape. I still have
questions about Why we need perimeter and area in our lives? I would like to
investigate more and make a perfect shape next.