Middle School Math and Science
Quality resources and powerful connections for math and science in the middle grades
Why are Manhole Covers Round?
Posted on November 3, 2011 by Kimberly Lightle
Have you ever noticed that every manhole cover you see is round? Have you ever wondered how engineers came to this decision? Did you realize that the reasoning comes down to the geometry of shapes?
That’s right: manhole covers are round because circles are the only shapes that cannot fall through themselves.
Let’s examine some of the properties of shapes to see why this is true.
First, it’s important to recognize that the shapes will only fall through themselves when they are rotated to be vertical. If they were lying flat then they would be covering the hole successfully!
Next, let’s examine shapes with unequal sides beginning with a triangle. If the triangle had side lengths of 3, 3, and 2 feet then we could rotate it so that the side with length 2 feet was parallel to the ground. This would mean that the width of the manhole cover would now be 2 feet, with the width of the opening approaching 3 along the sides of the hole. Since 3 is greater than 2, the cover would be able to fall through the opening. Similarly for a 4-sided figure if one side is shorter or longer than the others then we will find the same result.
There is a pattern to notice from examining the previous shapes. The shortest width of each shape is compared to the longest length. But what if the covers were regular shapes with all sides and angles being the same?
Let’s look at a square with length of 1 foot on each . The shortest width of a square will be the length of a side. But how about the longest length? That can be found by measuring from the upper left-hand corner to the lower-right hand corner.
Using Pythagorean’s Theorem, we know that 1^2 + 1^2 = diagonal^2. So the diagonal is square root of 2, or approximately 1.414. This means that this square could still fall through itself.
So now our focus can shift to finding a shape whose longest length and shortest width are the same. But this would mean that we would need all widths and lengths to be the same because we cannot have the longest length be shorter than the shortest width. This leads us to a circle.
A circle will always have the width of its diameter no matter which way it is rotated, so this will be the shortest width. But the longest length will also be the diameter as well because any chord will be shorter than the diameter. So the circle is unique to all polygons and shapes in that it can never fall through itself.
Want to test geometry with physical objects? Since manhole covers are heavy you should explore this idea using Tupperware containers. See how many different lid shapes will fall into the container, and how many will not – then post your comments!
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This post was originally posted in the Everyday Explanations – Answers to Questions Posed on a Middle School Bus Ride by Sean Mittleman. We have his permission to re-post in the MSP2 blog.
Posted in Area, Circumference, Geometry, Math, Polygons, Quick Takes, Triangles	| Tagged area, geometry, math, middle school, shapes	| 39 Replies
Math Games – Part II
Posted on May 28, 2009 by therrera
You probably already incorporate games in your teaching. Games are a great way to focus students’ attention as few other teaching strategies can. The ones selected here deal directly with the math content covered in the middle grades. Each has a learning objective; each could be embedded in a lesson plan. Here are a few more games that you can add to your store of games that teach.
Fraction Game
For work on fractions, this applet is a winner! It allows students to individually practice working with relationships among fractions and ways of combining fractions. It helps them visualize what is meant by equivalence of fractions. A link to an applet for two-person play is also given here.
Polygon Capture
This excellent lesson uses a game to review and stimulate conversation about properties of polygons. A player draws two cards, one about the sides of a polygon, such as “All sides are equal,” and one about the angles, such as “Two angles are acute.” The player then captures all the polygons on the table that fit both of the properties. Provided here are handouts of the game cards, the polygons, and the rules of the game.
The Factor Game
A two-player game that immerses students in factors! To play, one person circles a number from 1 to 30 on a gameboard. The second person circles (in a different color) all the proper factors of that number. The roles are switched and play continues until there are no numbers remaining with uncircled factors. The person with the largest total wins. A lesson plan outlines how to help students analyze the best first move in the game, which leads to class discussion of primes and squares as well as abundant and deficient numbers.
In this online one-person computer game, four planets are shown on a coordinate grid. A player must pass through each on a journey through space. The player must find the coordinates of the four planets and, finally, the equation of the line connecting them. Three levels of difficulty are available. This is one of 12 interactive games created by the Maths File Games Show.
Towers of Hanoi: Algebra (Grades 6-8)
This online version of the Towers of Hanoi puzzle features three spindles and a graduated stack of two to eight discs, a number decided by the player, with the largest disc on the bottom. The player must move all discs from the original spindle to a new spindle in the smallest number of moves possible, while never placing a larger disc on a smaller one. The algebra learning occurs as the player observes the pattern of number of discs to number of moves needed. Generalizing from this pattern, students can answer the question: What if you had 100 discs? The final step is expressing the pattern as a function.
Traffic Jam Activity
Why the jam? There are seven stepping stones and six people. Three stand on the left-hand stones and three on the right-hand; all face center. Everyone must move so that the people on the right and the people on the left pass each other, eventually standing on the side opposite from where they started. But no two people may stand on the same stone at the same time! This problem requires reasoning, but its solution also reveals a pattern that leads to an algebraic expression. A lesson plan is provided.
Let’s Talk Teaching: Games in Math Class
Posted on October 27, 2008 by therrera
In my years of teaching grades 6 through 8, I generally used games only for reviewing before a test. What I didn’t realize was how effective games can be for teaching the content. Each of the games below has a learning objective; each could be embedded in a lesson plan for middle school math. And, as you know, games focus students’ attention as few other teaching strategies can. Use our comment box below to share with other teachers the games you use in class!
This excellent lesson uses a game to stimulate conversation about the properties of polygons. A player draws two cards, one about the sides of a polygon, such as “All sides are equal,” and one about the angles, such as “Two angles are acute.” The player then captures all the polygons on the table that fit both of the properties. Provided here are handouts of the game cards, the polygons, and the rules of the game.
Maze Game
This online activity allows the player to practice their point plotting skills by having them move a robot through a mine field to a target location. Great for learning to visualize coordinates on the Cartesian plane!
In this two-player game, one person circles a number from 1 to 30 on a game board. The second person circles (in a different color) all the proper factors of that number. When no numbers remain with uncircled factors, the person with the largest total wins. A lesson plan outlines how to help students analyze the best first move in the game, which leads to class discussion of primes and squares as well as abundant and deficient numbers.
Data Picking
In this interactive game, students first create a table using data they collect from the onscreen characters. They then select a scatter plot, a histogram, a line graph, or a pie chart that best represents the data. The amount of data increases and the type of data representation changes according to which of three levels of difficulty is selected.
Fraction Track
Working in two-player competition or individually students practice finding equivalent fractions and ways of combining fractions as they move their pieces across the board. Both sites use applets, but the basic game play can be set up using only paper game boards and chips.
Sometimes geoboards are left on the shelf because we don’t know what to do with them. They can be powerful tools for students to study, length, area and perimeter. (But remember to be careful with the perimeter part because the length of one unit is only measured on the horizontal or vertical, not the diagonal.) Geoboards can help students experience area so that they can develop area formulas for themselves.
Geoboards in the Classroom
This unit deals with the length and area of two-dimensional geometric figures using the geoboard as a pedagogical device. Five lesson plans are provided.
The Online Geoboard
An applet simulates the use of an actual geoboard without the usual limitations of working with rubber bands. Most materials designed for real geoboards may be used with this online version.
Rectangle: Area, Perimeter, Length, and Width
This applet features an interactive grid for forming rectangles. The student can form a rectangle and then examine the relationships among perimeter, area, and the dimensions of the rectangle as the rectangle dimensions are varied.
Investigating the Concept of Triangle and the Properties of Polygons: Making Triangles
These activities use interactive geoboards to help students identify simple geometric shapes, describe their properties, and develop spatial sense.
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives: Geometry (Grades 6—8)
This site has a number of virtual manipulatives related to the NCTM geometry standards.