Virginia Department of Education
Angles, Arcs, and Segments in Circles
Investigate relationships between angles, arcs, and segments in circles. Pupils use geometry software to discover the relationships between angles, arcs, and segments associated with circles. Class members use similar triangles to...
Big Kid Science
Measuring Shadows Using an Ancient Method
How did ancient peoples determine the height of really tall objects? Young scientists and mathematicians explore the concept of using shadows to measure height in a hands-on experiment. Paired pupils measure shadows, then calculate the...
Virginia Department of Education
Lines and Angles
Explore angle relationships associated with transversals. Pupils construct parallel lines with a transversal and find the measures of the angles formed. They figure out how the different angles are related before constructing...
EngageNY
Conditions for a Unique Triangle—Two Angles and a Given Side
Using patty paper, classes determine that only one triangle is possible when given two specific angle measures and a side length. As the 10th instructional activity in the series of 29, young math scholars add these criteria to those...
EngageNY
Conditions on Measurements That Determine a Triangle
Can any three side lengths create a triangle? Your classes tackle this question and more in the 11th instructional activity of the 29-part module. Through modeling with patty paper, individuals discover the relationship between the...
Virginia Department of Education
Angles in Polygons
Polygons — it's all about the angles. Groups work with dynamic geometry software to find the sum of the measures of the angles of various polygons. After finding the information for several polygons, the groups generate a formula that...
EngageNY
How Do Dilations Map Angles?
The key to understanding is making connections. Scholars explore angle dilations using properties of parallel lines. At completion, pupils prove that angles of a dilation preserve their original measure.
EngageNY
Solving for Unknown Angles Using Equations II
The third activity in the series of 29 asks learners to identify types of angles to verify angle relationships. They find unknown measures using vertical, adjacent, complementary, supplementary, and 360-degree angles.
EngageNY
Solving for Unknown Angles Using Equations
They say a picture is worth a thousand words—and your pupils may agree after this instructional activity! They read a geometric description and create a diagram from that description. Their diagrams help them find unknown measures based...
EngageNY
Solving for Unknown Angles Using Equations III
Challenge your classes to combine geometric and algebraic concepts with an activity that builds on concepts learned in the first three lessons of the series. The fourth part asks scholars to identify geometric angle relationships and use...
Radford University
Google Earth Trip
Travel the world instantly—and learn about math along the way. Using pictures of famous places taken from Google Earth, scholars look for parallel and perpendicular lines based on slope and angle measurements. They also calculate...
Mathematics Vision Project
Similarity and Right Triangle Trigonometry
Starting with similar triangles and dilation factors, this unit quickly and thoroughly progresses into the world of right triangle features and trigonometric relationships. Presented in easy-to-attack modules with copious application...
Mathed Up!
Pie Charts
Representing data is as easy as pie. Class members construct pie charts given a frequency table. Individuals then determine the size of the angles needed for each sector and interpret the size of sectors within the context of frequency....
EngageNY
Modeling Using Similarity
How do you find the lengths of items that cannot be directly measured? The 13th installment in a series of 16 has pupils use the similarity content learned in an earlier resource to solve real-world problems. Class members determine...
Space Awareness
Measure the Solar Diameter
Scientists could measure the diameter of the sun before they knew its distance. Scholars construct a simple mirror box to measure the diameter for themselves. They compare this measurement with the official size, listed in a...
Radford University
Rocket Quads
How high will it fly? Pairs build straw rockets and launch them at different angles and determine the height and horizontal distance of the flight path. Teams make conjectures about how the angle affects the measured distances and use...
Space Awareness
Making A Sundial
Can people really measure time just by using the sun? Scholars venture outside on a nice, sunny day to build sundials and learn how people measured time 600 years ago. The class builds two different sundials while gaining practice with...
EngageNY
Addition and Subtraction Formulas 1
Show budding mathematicans how to find the sine of pi over 12. The third instructional activity in a series of 16 introduces the addition and subtraction formulas for trigonometric functions. Class members derive the formulas using...
Virginia Department of Education
How Many Triangles?
Something for young mathematicians to remember: the sum of any two sides must be greater than the third. Class members investigates the Triangle Inequality Theorem to find the relationship between the sides of a triangle. At the...
Radford University
How Tall Is It?
Find the height from afar. Teams role play as summer interns to find the height of a set of windows from the outside. Scholars must first determine how to find the height with the available tools. After determining a strategy involving...
EngageNY
Drawing Geometric Shapes
Learners build confidence working with geometric tools and develop their construction techniques in the sixth lesson plan of the 29-part series. Given a geometric description, they use a compass, protractor, or ruler to create it....
Mathematics Assessment Project
Identifying Similar Triangles
Math whizzes work with angle sums and exterior angles to figure out the measure of other angles. This particular publication provides comprehensive support in the form of an anticipatory activity, questions designed to prompt discussion,...
Virginia Department of Education
Constructions
Pupils learn the steps for basic constructions using a straightedge, a compass, and a pencil. Pairs develop the skills to copy a segment and an angle, bisect a segment and an angle, and construct parallel and perpendicular lines.
EngageNY
More About Similar Triangles
Determine whether two triangles are similar. The lesson presents opportunities for pupils to find the criterion needed to show that two triangles are similar. Scholars use the definition of similarity to find any missing side...