Tag Archives: Web Sketchpad

Adding Fractions on a Number Line

In previous posts, I've presented fraction-related Web Sketchpad models from the Dynamic Number project.  Several of these activities—specifically Dividing and Subdividing and Deducing the Mystery Fraction —focus on a number-line representation of fractions. Below (and here) is another such websketch, with students constructing segments of fractional length that can be … Continue Reading ››

Constructing the Pi-Petal Rose

When I was introduced to radian measure in high school, I knew just one thing: How to convert between radians and degrees. Had you asked me to illustrate a radian on a circle or to explain why radian measure was useful, I would have been stumped.

In this post, I'll describe a Web Sketchpad activity … Continue Reading ››

Tweaking the Expanding Circle Construction

In last month's blog post, I described a parabola construction technique dating back to the work of Persian polymath  Ibn Sina  (c. 970 – 1037). After I published the post, my colleague Scott noted that my construction could be more robust to allow for parabolas that are downward facing as well as upward facing. … Continue Reading ››

The Expanding Circle Construction

There can never be enough conic-section construction techniques—at least that's my philosophy, having grown up to think that conics existed purely in the realm of algebraic equations. So to continue my conic section construction series on Sine of the Times, I'll present a parabola construction attributed to Ibn Sina (Avicenna), a Persian polymath (c. 970 – … Continue Reading ››

The Varied Paths to Constructing a Rhombus

In how many different ways can you build a rhombus that stays a rhombus when its vertices are dragged? This assignment, a mainstay of Sketchpad workshops, invariably leads to great discussions because there are a multitude of ways to construct a rhombus, with each method highlighting different mathematical properties of the quadrilateral.

A Trio of Parabola Constructions

In my prior blog posts, I've presented methods for constructing ellipses  using Web Sketchpad and paper folding. The other conic sections are feeling a bit left out, so let's explore some techniques for constructing parabolas.

All three Web Sketchpad models below (and here) are based on the distance definition of a parabola: The set … Continue Reading ››

An Interactive Approach to Finding nth Roots

When students find the nth roots of a complex number, they use de Moivre's Theorem and a fair bit of calculation and trigonometry. In this blog post, I'm going to approach the topic from a more visual perspective and make use of the following geometric way to think about complex number multiplication: To multiply two complex … Continue Reading ››