Big Questions On Tests

This is Suli Breaks.

I really like this guy - he's a verbal artist.  That is he can speak his ideas in rhythm. 

This video really challenges us teachers (even maths teachers) about what is the real meaning of learning.  Enjoy.

This leads me to a self review page.  This is a way of checking yourself and making sure that you've put in what you need to be a success (at the level you should be successful). 

Geometry Angles Post 2

Types of Angles

For this unit of work we are only interested in shapes that are made with straight lines (and circles).  So we need to learn the basics of what actually makes a shape with straight lines.

The smallest picture on a flat page is called a point (looks like a dot).  Then we have a ray which is a line that goes in one direction from a point.  Then we have a line which goes in both directions.  Then we have a line segment which is part of a line. 

Here is a picture to explain what I mean.

When two lines met they create a vertex (aka a corner).  Then we've got our start of an angle. 


The angle is one of the base ideas of Geometry Mathematics.  It is something that we can have lots of learning on.  You need to know the names of the various types of angles...

Acute angle - little one.  like "a cute baby"

Reflex angle - bent over.  like having your arm twisted. 

Right Angle - 90 degrees. 

Geometry Angles Post 1

Things You Need to Know

In this topic there are several things/facts/names that you need (memorise).  Most are very common words (like square etc) but some are a little harder to remember. 
 
Here are the first ones (and some tricks to help you recall them)...

                            The Polygons...

The ones people struggle with and ways to remember them...
+ Pentagon (FBI headquarters see below*).
+ Hexagon (hex and six both have x's in them).
+ Heptagon (the French word for seven is sept).
+ Nonagon (nona and nine both have n's in them).



 
The Types of Triangles...

• Right Angle - has a 90 degree corner.
• Isosceles - has two sides the same length.
• Equalateral - has three sides the same length.
• Scalene - has no sides the same length.

[you can have mixtures of some of these]


Last Thing - Regular.  A regular polygon is when all the sides (and angles) are the same.   Here is a picture of three pentagons but only one is regular.  Usually we mark the same lengths with dashes.

Here is a picture of the FBI head quarters "The Pentagon". 

Good Balanced Student

Here Is A Top Bloke

Not too many people get themselves sorted enough to be able balance excellence in sports, home and school life.  I really liked this video as it shows a student that has some clear direction and goals, is willing to put in the hard yards and is going places. 



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ysp70Nle_O8

How are your goals going?  Can you see that you've got what it takes to replicate.  This guy is just five years ahead (as a year 13) of where you're at now. 

New Topic Geometry

Geometry

Geometry is a nice topic in maths.  It is all about shapes (and mostly flat two dimensional shapes). 

Geometry is broken down into two major sub units.  Angle Geometry and Transformational Geometry.  Angle Geometry is some of the oldest maths around - much of it is from ancient greeks.  It is about the rules that geometric shapes obey.  I like angle geometry because there is a beauty to it, it is logical and can get pretty complicated.  

Geometry is especially important if you're interested in graphing, design, architecture, engineering, building, painting and other arts. 

Here is my traditional unit plan that I'll use in this class.  It has the what you should already know, what we'll be covering and some extension material...


Here is the one on Geometry Angles (click to see a bigger version). 


The link to the curriculum is that the earlier knowledge is level three, this year's work is mostly level four, and start thinking about is level five. 

At year 11 Angles is worth four credits externally (1.6) and three credits internally (1.8)

There is also Transformational Geometry.  At year 11 Transformations are worth two credits internally (1.9).  We're not doing this for this topic right now.