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polyhedral sections

way of teaching kids about maths
 
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The relationship between parabolas, hyperbolas, circles and ellipses is easy to see once they are understood as conic sections.

I think the relationship between geometric shapes such as squares, rhomboids and trapezoids could be taught in a similar way to conic sections as cross sections of polyhedra (e.g. a pyramid).

All types of triangles (right angle, equilateral, isosceles, scalene) could be also be visualised as cross-sections of a single polyhedra (i.e. a triangular prism).

This could be used in educational videos or software.

xaviergisz, Oct 06 2007

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       Hmmm. I'm not entirely sure this would be easier - it depends on which features of the plane shapes you are trying to illustrate. Can you give a specific example?
MaxwellBuchanan, Oct 06 2007
  

       visualising shapes in this way is easier and more interesting for me because I think in 3d rather than 2d.   

       Also, shapes like trapezoids seem so... arbitrary. this puts shapes in some kind of context.
xaviergisz, Oct 06 2007
  

       Hmmm. You mean "slice this dodecahedron this way and you get a pentagon" type of thing? Fair enough, but then you still have to learn about the properties of the plane shape, once you've found where it comes from.
MaxwellBuchanan, Oct 06 2007
  

       (+) Suddenly it all makes sense.   

       I'll agree to it only as a supplement to the current system. There's no harm in offering the same information spun different ways since children have so many different learning styles.
kevinthenerd, Jun 10 2008
  
      
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