Winding Up the Week and Month

We spent much of the period finishing up odds and ends related to angles, their complements and supplements. Some of us helped others with tricky problems, while others finished taking the test over chapter 9. All in all, we ended the week by getting work turned in, and left knowing that most of us have no homework over the weekend!

Tonight's Homework: None, unless you've been absent.

P.S. Many of you have indicated you'll be coming to school on Saturday for a little extra help. Please plan to arrive around 10:30, and bring your math book so you can get the most out of being here.

Band Field Trip Cancels New Material

About a third of the class was on a band field trip today, so those who did come to class were able to get a great start on their homework for tonight. Students were challenged to complete problems that were more algebraic in nature, and most caught on after a few tries at it.

Tonight's Homework: Challenge Practice 8.1 WS (both sides)

Angles, Angles, and Polygons--Round 2

Students looked at many different types of angles, including vertical and alternate interior angles today, and discovered some interesting patterns. We also reviewed how to determine the measure of an interior angle of a given polygon, as well as how to determine the total number of degrees in a given polygon.

Tonight's Homework: Complete both sides of the Practice Worksheet for lessons 8.1 and 8.4

Angles and Polygons

Today, we looked at polygons and tried to discover a pattern that exists between the number of sides on the polygon and the total number of degrees the polygon's interior includes. After several examples, Melissa suggested part of the pattern and Ryan supplied us with the rest. Yeah for us--we found the pattern. If you forgot this pattern (or just missed class), be sure to read lesson 8.4, where it is described fully.

Tonight's Homework: Lesson 8.1 ( 11, 13 - 27) and Lesson 8.4 ( 1 - 16 ).

P.S. Jackson, we are missing you. Will you ever come back? Paper Tuesday misses you, too!

More About Angles

Besides being acute, obtuse or right, some pairs of angles can be classified as complementary, supplementary, vertical or straight. We spent quite a bit of time talking about complementary (think c as in corner, meaning 90º) and supplementary (think s as in straight, meaning 180º) angles.

Tonight's Homework: Test corrections, and Lesson 8.1 ( 1 - 9 )

Chapter 9 Test Taken Today

Students reviewed last night's homework and then turned it in. The rest of the period was spent taking the test over chapter 9--square roots, rational and irrational numbers, the Pythagorean theorem, and special right triangle relationships.

Tonight's Homework: None. Have a terrific weekend!

Right Triangle Review

Now that we've covered all of the special types of right triangles and the relationships between each of the sides, we took some time to review. We will be taking a test over the material in chapter 9 on Friday.

Tonight's Homework: Lesson 9.3 ( 11 - 20, 40 )

Another Special Type of Right Triangle

We learned about right triangles that have angles that measure 30º, 60º, and 90º. These scalene triangles are special because the short side is half as long as the longest side, and the remaining side is √3 times the length of the short side. Referring to lesson 9.5 in the book, especially if you missed class, will prove to be very helpful.

Tonight's Homework: Lesson 9.5 ( 9 - 11, 17 - 19, 23, 34 )

Winter Social Shortens Class!

Today's class was abbreviated because of the school-wide Winter Social. We reviewed homework, and then worked on a review worksheet that covered integer operations. Of course, the answer to the riddle was ridiculous, and related to Valentine's Day in a strange way.

Tonight's Homework: Finish the pink worksheet. Enjoy the long weekend!

Right Isosceles Triangles

Today students learned all about "special right triangles" that are Isosceles in nature. These triangles all have 2 sides (the base and the height) that are the same length. Using the Pythagorean Theorem, students determined the length of the hypotenuse, and then learned a short cut on how to find the length of the hypotenuse.

Tonight's Homework: Lesson 9.5 ( 6 - 8 , 12 , 14 - 16 , 20 , and 30 - 33 )

Numbers, Numbers, Numbers!

We looked at examples of different types of numbers, including:
•counting numbers
•whole numbers
•integers
•rational numbers
•irrational numbers
The first three groups of numbers can be expressed by using set notation, while the last two groups are more difficult to express without using words.

Tonight's Homework: Lesson 9.2 ( 10 - 19, 27-32, 41-43 and 48 - 50 ).

P.S. Rachel, you are missed. Get well soon!

Scarecrow is Finally Corrected!

Students once again took a stab at trying to correct the Scarecrow's statement about triangle lengths, and this time, I believe we all figured out what he should have really said. Five parts of his sentence were corrected!

We then figured out at least three different ways to determine how to solve the quilt problem from last night.

Tonight's Homework: Page 735 ( 19 - 31, all )

Baseball, Football, Basketball . . . and Quilting

The Pythagorean Theorem is used in many practical ways. We first warmed up our brains by completing a set of problems that challenged us to remember the relationships between the side lengths of a triangle and the type of triangle those three sides create (acute, obtuse, or right). Then we looked at the distances baseball players would have to throw the ball while standing in the infield. The distance from 3rd base to 1st is quite a bit farther than the distance between 1st and 2nd or 2nd and 3rd base, and we used the Pythagorean Theorem to determine the distance. Students came up with other examples that could employ the theorem to determine the distance of the hypotenuse.

Tonight's Homework: Complete the basketball and quilting problems on the purple worksheet. Be sure to show your work!

The Scarecrow Was Incorrect!

Today found us trying to tie together all of the pieces of the week, and as we did, we determined that the Scarecrow made several mistakes when he realized he had a brain. Students completed a yellow worksheet, and tried to write what the correct wording should have been to the Scarecrow's explanation of the Pythagorean Theorem.

Tonight's Homework: Oh, joy! Rapture! No homework tonight.

Triangles Surrounded by Squares

Students worked in groups of four to create seven different triangles with varying side lengths. The odd thing about these triangles was they were created with three squares, whose corners were the only parts touching each other. Once the triangles were created, students classified them as obtuse, acute or right triangles, and then looked for relationships between the sum of the squares of the two shorter sides and the square of the longer side.

Tonight's Homework: Because of the mix-up in last night's homework, there will be no new work to complete tonight.

More With Square Roots

Today, students used their equation-solving skills to solve problems that included square numbers or square roots. This lesson is an extension of what we covered yesterday in class.

Tonight's Homework: Lesson 9.1 ( 27-32, 41-43 and 48-55 ).

Picturing Square Numbers

We used plastic square tiles to build models of squares, and then made a table to compare the dimensions of the squares to the area. We then determined that there is a relationship between the length of the side of the square (s) and the area of the square. This led us to a discussion of square numbers and square roots.

Tonight's Homework: Lesson 9.1 ( 2 - 10, 15 - 22 )

Classifying Triangles

After watching a clip from "The Wizard of Oz", we realized that the Scarecrow knew a little bit about math. We then talked about one of the words he said (isosceles) and how it related to geometry.

Triangles can be sorted into groups based on two different factors: length of side and size of angle. If we look at the angles of a triangle, they always sum to 180 degrees. When using angle size, triangles can be labeled as acute, obtuse or right. When looking at the length of the sides of a triangle, triangles can be labeled as equilateral, isosceles, or scalene.

Tonight's Homework: Lesson 8.2 ( 2 - 21, 29 and 30 )