Math Arguments

Problems, Questions, and Puzzles to spark discussion and argument in the maths classroom.

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Area of Triangles

From the Amazingly Amazing Fake Martin Gardner Twitter Account:

Which has the larger area?

A triangle with sides of 3, 4, and 5.
A triangle with sides of 300, 400, and 700.

Challenge:

Change one dimension of the 300, 400, 700 triangle to give the two triangles the same area.

What other mathematical aspects of this caught your attention? What do you wonder about the situation?

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MS Math

Source: internet

"Which has the larger area? A triangle with sides of 3, 4, 5, or a triangle with sides of 300, 400, and 700?" p17 Riddles of the Sphinx — Martin Gardner tweet (@WWMGT) April 27, 2014

More Information:
Noticing and wondering is a tool to help students:
- Understand the story, the quantities, and the relationships in the problem.
- Understand what the problem is asking and what the answer will look like. Have some ideas to begin to solve the problem.
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