Activity Detail
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Building a Garden Fence
 


Activity Overview

In this activity, students will use basic concepts of perimeter and area to investigate a classic problem situation requiring maximization. They must decide how to build a garden fence to enclose the largest possible area.

Before the Activity

  • See the attached PDF file for detailed instructions for this activity
  • Print pages 33 - 40 from the attached PDF file for your class

    		•

    		During the Activity

    		Distribute the pages to your class.

    Follow the Activity procedures:

  • Find the maximum possible area that can be enclosed by a fence using 24 one meter long fencing
  • Enter the range of possible widths (1 to 11)
  • Find the possible lengths
  • Enter the expression to find the area
  • Find which pair shows the maximum area
  • Use the scatter plot to display the relationship between two sets of paired data (width and area)
  • Find the point that corresponds to maximum area

    		After the Activity

    		Students will complete the worksheet and analyze the results.

    Review student results:
  • As a class, discuss questions that appeared to be more challenging
  • Re-teach concepts as necessary

    		Other Downloads




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    Subject Area:
    Math : PreAlgebra : Geometry
    Math : Middle Grades Math : Geometry

    Author:
    Texas Instruments

    Level:
    5-8

    Activity Time:
    60 Minutes

    Device:
    TI-83, TI-83 Plus Family, TI-84 Plus Family

    Apps:
     

    Software:
     

    Accessories:
     

    Other:
    This is Activity 4 from the EXPLORATIONS Book:
    Graphing Calculator Activities for Enriching Middle School Mathematics

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