DIY Activity Ideas to Explore Area of Triangles & Parallelograms
Introduction:
Understanding the concepts of area in geometry is essential for high school students. Engage your students or homeschooling children in interactive DIY activities to explore the area of triangles and parallelograms. These activities will not only teach them the formulas but also help them understand the underlying principles.
Activity 1: Angle Sum Property in a Quadrilateral
Materials Required:
Procedure:
- Cut the clay into the shape of a quadrilateral.
- Â Try to form a circle using the cut vertices pieces from the clay quadrilateral.
- Â Observe and discuss the results. Science behind it: By attempting to form a circle with the cut pieces, students will realize that the sum of the angles in a quadrilateral is always 360 degrees.
- This activity demonstrates the angle sum property and helps students understand its significance.
Activity 2: Opposite Angles in a Parallelogram
Materials Required:
- Clay,
- folded parallelogram transparent strip
Procedure:
- Make two flattened clay pieces.
- Â Place the folded parallelogram transparent strip crossly and cut the clay with two of its vertices.
- Compare the two cut pieces by overlapping them and check if both angles are equal.
- Â Discuss the findings. Science behind it: By comparing the cut pieces, students will observe that the opposite angles in a parallelogram are equal.
- This activity reinforces the concept of opposite angles and their equality in a parallelogram.
Activity 3: Opposite Sides in a Parallelogram
Materials Required:
- Eva foam sheet
- plastic strip
- double-sided tape
- flute bar
- hard straws
- screws
- rubber bands
- thread
Procedure:
- Construct a sliding bar model using the provided materials.
- Use the sliding bar to create different types of parallelograms.
- Measure the lengths of the opposite sides of the parallelogram using the thread.
- Compare the measurements and determine if the opposite sides are equal.
- Discuss the results. Science behind it: By measuring the opposite sides of the parallelogram, students will discover that they are equal in length.
- This activity reinforces the property of opposite sides being congruent in a parallelogram.
Activity 4: Diagonal Divides the Parallelogram Equally
Materails Required:
- Sliding bar model
- thread
Procedure:
- Use the earlier constructed sliding bar model.
- Â Create a parallelogram shape using the sliding bar.
- Â Measure the lengths of the diagonals using the thread.
- Â Compare the measurements and determine if the diagonal divides the parallelogram equally.
- Â Discuss the results. Science behind it: By measuring the lengths of the diagonals, students will find that the diagonal divides the parallelogram into two congruent triangles.
- This activity demonstrates the property of the diagonal dividing a parallelogram equally.
Activity 5: Diagonals of a parallelogram Bisect Each Other
Materails Required:
- Sliding bar model
- thread
Procedure:
- Use the sliding bar model from earlier.
- Create a parallelogram shape using the sliding bar.
- Â Measure the lengths of the diagonals using the thread.
- Â Check if the diagonals bisect each other by comparing the measurements.
- Â Discuss the findings. Science behind it: By measuring the lengths of the diagonals, students will discover that the diagonals of a parallelogram bisect each other.
- This activity reinforces the property of diagonals bisecting in a parallelogram.
Activity 6: Midpoint Theorem in Triangles
Materails Required:
- Sliding bar model
- marker
Procedure:
- Use the sliding bar model to create a triangle shape.
- Â Mark the midpoints of two sides of the triangle using the marker.
- Â Check if the third side is parallel to the line segment connecting the midpoints.
-  Discuss the findings. Science behind it: By marking the midpoints and observing the relationship between the third side and the line segment connecting the midpoints, students will understand the Midpoint Theorem in triangles.
- This activity demonstrates that the third side is parallel to the line segment connecting the midpoints.
Activity 7: Calculating the Area of a Triangle
Materails Required:
Sliding bar model with a 15×15 grid
Procedure:
- Use the sliding bar model with the 15×15 grid.
- Â Determine the portion of the grid that is enclosed by a triangle.
- Â Calculate the area of the triangle using the enclosed portion of the grid.
- Discuss the calculation process. Science behind it: By considering the portion of the grid enclosed by the triangle, students will learn to calculate the area of a triangle using the formula (base x height) / 2.
- This activity reinforces the concept of finding the area of a triangle.
Activity 8: Calculating the Area of a Parallelogram
Materails Required:
Sliding bar model with a 15×15 grid
Procedure:
- Use the sliding bar model with the 15×15 grid.
- Â Determine the portion of the grid that is enclosed by a parallelogram.
- Â Calculate the area of the parallelogram using the enclosed portion of the grid.
- Discuss the calculation process. Science behind it: By considering the portion of the grid enclosed by the parallelogram, students will learn to calculate the area of a parallelogram using the formula base x height.
- This activity reinforces the concept of finding the area of a parallelogram.
Activity 9: Verifying the Area of a Triangle is Half that of a Parallelogram
Materails Required:
Sliding bar model with a 15×15 grid
Procedure:
- Use the sliding bar model with the 15×15 grid.
- Â Create a triangle and a parallelogram with the same base and height.
- Â Determine the portion of the grid enclosed by each shape.
- Â Compare the areas of the triangle and parallelogram.
- Â Discuss the relationship between their areas. Science behind it: By comparing the areas of the triangle and parallelogram, students will discover that the area of a triangle is half that of a parallelogram with the same base and height.
- This activity demonstrates the relationship between the areas of these two shapes.
Complete Walkthrough video on Areas of Triangles & Parallelograms
Quick understanding on Triangles & Parallelograms
Unleashing the Power of Geometric Areas: Engaging DIY Experiments for High School Math Enthusiasts!
These DIY activities provide engaging opportunities for high school students to explore the concept of area in triangles and parallelograms. By actively participating in these hands-on experiments, students will gain a deeper understanding of the underlying principles and formulas involved in calculating the area of these geometric figures.
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