Math in the Middle Institute Partnership
Date of this Version
7-2006
Abstract
A student comes to class excited. She tells you she has figured out a theory you never told the class. She says she has discovered that as the perimeter of a closed figure increases, the area also increases. She shows you two pictures to prove what she is doing. The first picture is of a 4 by 4 square. Of course, its perimeter is 16 and its area is 16. The second picture is of a 4 by 8 rectangle. Here the perimeter is 24 and the area is 32. What do you say to the student?
Comments
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts in Teaching with a Specialization in the Teaching of Middle Level Mathematics in the Department of Mathematics. Jim Lewis, Advisor July 2006