Windshield wipers : it's raining! Who sees more? The driver of the car or the truck?

URL: http://www.figurethis.org/challenges/c32/challenge.htm

1007936

This activity challenges students to use areas of geometric shapes to compare the areas cleaned by different designs of windshield wipers. Part of the Figure This! collection of 80 challenges emphasizing real-world uses of mathematics, this activity notes the importance of calculating area for surveyors, designers, and building contractors. Students examine an animation that shows the movement of two designs of windshield wipers. The one on a passenger car has the arm attached to the end of the wiper blade, while the other, on a truck, has the arm attached to the center of a longer blade. The lengths of each wiper blade and arm are provided, as well as the angles between them. To get started, students are encouraged to draw the area cleaned by each wiper, determine its shape, and find the area of each shape. The activity contains links to a solution hint, the solution, and other similar investigations. Copyright 2005 Eisenhower National Clearinghouse

Summary

Subject keyword(s)	Area, Area of circles, Mathematics, Measurement, Nonstandard shapes, Number and operations
Grade level	Middle School, Informal Education
Intended audience	Learner
Resource type	Audio/Visual, Instructional Material
Resource format	image, image/gif, text, text/html
Rights	Content copyright 1999-2002 National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Found in collection(s)

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Title	Middle School Portal: Math and Science Pathways (MSP2)
Link	http://msteacher2.org/
Description	The Middle School Portal 2: Math and Science Pathways (MSP2) supports middle grades educators with high-quality, standards-based resources and promotes collaboration and knowledge-sharing among its users. Educators use MSP2 to increase content knowledge in science, mathematics, and appropriate pedagogy for youth ages 10 to 15. MSP2 employs social networking and digital tools to foster dynamic experiences that promote creation, modification, and sharing of resources, facilitate professional development, and support the integration of technology into practice. MSP2 is a project of the Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology, National Middle School Association, and Education Development Center, Inc., and is funded by the National Science Foundation. The partners integrate resources, tools, and services across projects, and support multiple methods of resource discovery to meet the needs of this audience.
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Content contained within the resource

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