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This Toilet Roll lesson plan also includes:
- Activity
- Answer Key
- Teacher Reference
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Potty humor is always a big hit with the school-age crowd, and potty algebra takes this topic to a whole new level. Here the class develops a model that connects the dimensions (radii, paper thickness, and length of paper) of a common roll of toilet paper. This short, but high-level, exercise makes a great warm-up application, or an open-ended practice problem.
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Instructional Ideas
- Extend the modeling to other three-dimensional shapes or ways of arranging the toilet paper (folding instead of rolling, for instance)
- Test the formula developed against the measurements of an actual roll of toilet paper
- Link with a science lesson on waste management, or a history lesson on different civilizations' solutions to waste removal throughout history
Classroom Considerations
- Last page of lesson is blank
- Weaknesses in calculating volume and surface area of cylinders will quickly appear in the modeling process, having remediation handy would speed up this process
Pros
- Abstract reasoning made approachable by easy language and common materials
- Strong links developed between geometry and algebraic modeling methods
Cons
- Student activity not separated from teaching notes and answer key
- Only one solution method provided, though reference is made in teaching notes to several possible attacks