1. My Square Meter Investigation
The Task:
I was asked to use newspaper to make a square with scissors,
measure tape and sticky tape. 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 had to think very deep to get the
answers. It was challenging for me because the work was hard and
the thinking was hard.
Original Shape:
The dimensions of my shape were 1 m
x 1 m, or 100 cm by 100 cm. This shape
was a square.It had an area of 1 m2 or
10,000 cm2. It had a perimeter of 400
cm or 4 m.
New Shape:
My new shape was a triangle.The area of my new shape was still 1 m2
or 10,000 cm2. I know this because we did not lose any area of the
newspaper.The perimeter of my new shape isgreater than the
original. It is 487 cm or 4.87 m. I worked this out by measuring each
side with a measuring tape and adding them together.I think the new
perimeter is greater because the side lengthis greater.
Reflection:
During this investigation, I
had to think hard about
what area is and what
perimeter is, and how they
are different. I enjoyed
making the square into
another triangle. I still have
questions about why people
use 100 cm instead of 1 m
when they measure. I would
like to investigate the
track’s area next.