WHAT IS IT?
Classroom activity about the dimensions of an annulus.
GRADE LEVEL/STRAND
Secondary geometry
CLASS TIME
2 class periods
MATERIALS
Paper cups of a variety of sizes, large sheets of paper such as butcher paper to cover desks, yardsticks Student worksheets: Worksheet 1 Worksheet 2
OBJECTIVES
Increase students' understanding of the properties of annuli through an exploration focusing on the area and dimensions of annuli traced out by rolling various sized cups on a flat surface.
The exploration focuses on the following questions:
Does a cup really trace out an annulus? How can you tell?
How does the size of the cup affect the size of the annulus?
How might you use the dimensions of the cup to determine its associated annulus without tracing it out and measuring it directly?
