In this lesson, students will visualize that areas of irregular shapes can be found by determining the sum of smaller, more familiar shapes.

• Students will use volume formulas to solve problems.
• Students will recognize that the area of a composite shape is the sum of the areas of its smaller parts.
• Students will determine the area of an irregular shape by decomposing it into geometric figures whose areas they can calculate.
• Students will model with mathematics.

In this lesson, students will visualize that areas of irregular shapes can be found by determining the sum of smaller, more familiar shapes.

• Student may use the Measurement tools found in the Geometry menu options or model the image using functions on the Graphs page.
• Teachers and students can use the TI-Nspire software or iPad app to investigate objects in their own photographs and use proportions to adjust the scale before making measurements to use in calculations with TI-Nspire.