Friday, November 13, 2009

Geometry - Friday the 13th

I've shortened this, and we'll push back the quiz until Monday. As usual, this is all part of the assignment.

1. Start with the reading, 1-6. Notice that concave shapes are cave-shaped.

2. Next, since it's Friday the Thirteenth, let's start with Freddy. If you pretend the bottom of his hat is a straight line, then it becomes a polygon. Describe it. How many sides? Is it convex or concave, regular or irregular?

3. Go back to SketchUp! It should still be saved when you open the program (there's a link to SketchUp at the lower left of the screen) Use the frigate from before, or the International Space Station or the Apollo Command Module.

Find and record 2 examples each of convex regular and convex irregular polygons somewhere on the object. For each one, tell where you found it (sail, thruster, etc.) and how many sides it has. If you can, find an example of a concave irregular polygon. Why don't concave regular polygons exist?

4. Lastly, the book assignment. All problems ending in 0, 4, or 8.

5. Extra Credit if you have time (most people won't, I know): get on Google Earth and look at Nevada. What kind of polygon is it? Okay, here's the tough part - find the perimeter of Nevada. Remember the distance formula, and that there are 60 miles in a degree. (By the way, there aren't always 60 miles in a degree, but south of Canada that's a reasonable estimate).

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