Wheel of Theodorus Projects
During our study of radical numbers, I showed students how easy it was to draw a line of length √2. In class we used square templates to draw two adjacent sides of a 1 inch by 1 inch square. Then the diagonal of that square, although being a difficult number to write as a decimal, was easily visualized as √2. We spent ½ of a class period using the hypotenuse of a 1 - 1 - √2 triangle and a new 1 inch, right-angled leg, to create a new right triangle adjacent to the first = 1 - √2 - √3 triangle.
After that class period involving drawing adjacent right triangles and using the Pythagorean Theorem to calculate the hypotenuses, the Wheel of Theodorus assignment was set as an at-home project.
Kyle created a turkey while incorporating the assigned Wheel of Theodorus. |
Mollie made a beautiful Wheel that reminded her of a shell on the beach. |
John made his wheel into a french horn. |
Dan created a hair style when he drew his Wheel. This is his Princess Leah. |
Will made a scary monster-snail-thing for his Wheel. |
Kristina's Wheel involved a tongue and a lolly pop. |
Luke's was interesting |
Melanie drew a beach ball flying high. |
Jessica's Wheel is a sort of a sun. |
Ben created a snail on the beach. |
For more information on this project, check out my article on creating the Wheel of Theodorus. Irrational Numbers can Inspiral You; MTMS, April, 2007.