Scatterplot graphs enable us to build shapes using spreadsheets and to practice transformational geometry. They are surprisingly flexible tools. And since they depend upon a table of value and that table can have both fixed numbers and rules, we can not only build shapes but change them and watch the graph immediately reflect those changes. In this lab we use that capability to get students to explore scaling, reflection, and transposition of a triangle. This is only the beginning and we hope students will take this further exploring symmetries for example.
Category: Geometry
Sierpinski Fractals
Fractals are a new 21st century mathematics. They are patterns that repeat themselves at various scales. This one is based on the odd numbers in Pascal’s triangle. We learn to create it easily by using Conditional Formatting which enables us to color cells or text based on a quantitative relationship. To turn Pascal’s triangle into a Sierpinski fractal all we have to do is color cells that are odd numbers. Here again is an amazing pattern involving odds and evens. There are a wide number of other Sierpinski fractal patterns.
Parentheses and Pi
Parentheses are very important in spreadsheets because like all programming, spreadsheet formulas have to be very specific. A big formula, especially one like Viete’s approximation of pi, likely will require us to think both in parentheses and in creating formulas that naturally build a series. This one is quite interesting and you will know if you are approaching the right answer if you are approaching the value of pi. So be careful and watch your (parentheses).
Shapes
Shapes introduces student to changing the colors in cells and to changing the shapes of cells by dragging the column or row separators in the address axes. Students can use spreadsheets as drawing tools and can create some wonderful pictures with them. Spreadsheets can thus be tools for visualizing mathematics as well as adding the arts to technology and math.
Products as Areas
Using the times table, students can see that products are always rectangles, and that they represent the area of that rectangle. They should explore the times table by playing with these rectangles whose sides are the factor of the products.