Activity Overview
Students explore the traditional Paving Problem in order to establish a rule relating the quantity of pavers for garden beds of a specified size. This resource however takes this activity to the next level! Three different animations are available for students to explore, each one helps students visualise a different formulation of the rule relating specific characteristics of the pattern and their formula. A new garden bed shape is then provided for students to apply what they have learnt.
Objectives
- ACMNA213: Apply the distributive law to the expansion of algebraic expressions, including binomials, and collect like terms where appropriate.
Vocabulary
- Factorise
- Expand
- Simplify
About the Lesson
A square garden bed is surrounded by pavers, how many pavers are required for a 1m x 1m garden? What about a 2m x 2m or n x n garden. Students use animations that support the development of the rules followed by algebraic techniques such as factorise, expand and simply to illustrate that these abstract algebraic representations are equivalent. Students take this knowledge and experience and apply it to a different style of garden bed.