|
Math in the Park or City (Grades 6-8)
Neighborhood Math Home | Math at the Mall
|
Math in the Park or City
| "Wheel" Figure This Out
| Gearing Up
|
Answers |
Career Connections | More Math Concepts
 Mathematics
is everywhere! The following questions relate to things you might see
in the world around you in a city or in a park. Keep your eyes open.
Mathematics and Bricks
Bricks
are useful and durable building blocks. They also offer
an opportunity to explore mathematics.
1.
As you travel around, watch for different shapes of
bricks. Most bricks are what shape?
2.
Why do you think bricks are this shape?
3.
If you keep your eyes open, you will probably be able
to find bricks that are not rectangles. Side walks and
patios are good places to look. What shapes are the
bricks? Do they still tessellate?
4.
See if you can find a place where rings of bricks are
laid in a circular pattern. Good places to look are
around statues and fountains. How does the number of
bricks in each ring change as the rings get larger?
Try to come up with a rule to describe the pattern.
A Mathematical Look at Fountains and Pools
5.
Once you find a fountain or pool, try to figure out
how much water it contains. Using what you know about
calculating volumes and measurement skills, estimate
how many cubic feet of water are in the pool or fountain.
6.
One cubic foot of water contains 7.48 gallons of water.
That is a lot of water! Calculate how many gallons of
water it takes to fill the fountain or pool.
7.
How much does the water in the pool weigh? Water is
a pretty heavy liquid, which explains why most people
float in water instead of sink. It turns out that 1
gallon of water weighs approximately 8.57 pounds. How
much does the water in the pool or fountain weigh?
Shadows and Heights
With
the help of a couple of meter sticks or yardsticks,
you can figure out the height of some tall objects like
a tree or flagpole. There is a direct relationship between
the height of an object and the length of its shadow.
This relationship is the same for all things if the
measurements are taken at the same time of day, which
means the sun is in the same spot.
8.
Find something tall so that you can measure its height.
It should be something like a tree or flagpole that
casts a shadow and that you can actually measure from
its base. A fountain would be more difficult since you
don't want to be at the base of the fountain.
9.
On flat ground, place one measuring stick point straight
up. Measure the length of the shadow.
10.
Figure out what number you would need to multiply the
length of the shadow by to generate the length of the
measuring stick. Call this number the shadow factor.
11.
Measure the length of the shadow of the tree or flagpole.
Multiply the length of the shadow by the shadow factor
you calculated in Question 10. This will give you a
good estimate of the height of the tree or flagpole.
12.
Note that the shadow factor changes as the sun moves.
When is the shadow factor very small?
13.
When is the shadow factor very large?
14.
Can the shadow factor ever equal 1? If so, when?
| 