http://web.hku.hk/~amslee/gsp.

pdf

Geometer's Sketchpad

prepared by Arthur Lee

amslee@hku.hk
Jun 2008

please download the Sketchpad file for workshop:

http://web.hku.hk/~amslee/jun08.gsp
Locus Exploration

Construct & Explore

● Find B so that BC to AB is 2.
● Make a table to record positions of such points.
● Plot the points stored in the table.

http://screencast.com/t/DlZ4cyql
Locus Exploration

Explore the locus with parametric coloring.

http://screencast.com/t/7FSrs6WQn
Two parabolic chords, difference of slopes

Construct & Explore

● Mark 3 points on a quadratic
graph.
● Measure the slopes of 2
chords.
● Calculate the difference of
the slopes.
● What happens if the points
are changed?

http://screencast.com/t/Zf7pPcBORM
Construct a quadratic graphs with 3 given points

http://screencast.com/t/Mo9SLI7q
Antiderivative of a quadratic function

http://screencast.com/t/w4MHDevQ
Quadrilateral, Sum of Squares of Opposite Sides
Construct tangents with custom tools

http://screencast.com/t/IdpCDc9AQH
Another construction of tangents

equation of tangent is created from the derivative calculated and coordinates of

the given point on the graph
http://screencast.com/t/dGuewyDqf
Exponential Function

http://screencast.com/t/W7RHdPxmf
Perimeter and Area of a Regular Polygon

http://screencast.com/t/h1gfQNgvNJg
Line Pattern

http://screencast.com/t/SeD51wyB4
Some readings about use of images and videos with
dynamic tools
From http://www.atm.org.uk/mt/micromath.html

Oldknow, A. (2003) a free program for video analysis is mentioned in

Mathematics from still and video images Oldknow (2003)
Micromath (Summer, 2003, pp.30-34) Vidshell
http://www.atm.org.uk/mt/micromath/mm192oldknowa.pdf
http://cripe03.ugent.be/Vidshell/Vidshell.htm
Oldknow, A. (2003)
Geometric and Algebraic Modelling with Dynamic Geometry Software
Micromath (Summer, 2003, pp.16-19)

Oldknow, A. (2005)
ICT - bringing maths to life and vice versa
Micromath; Summer 2005; 21, 2; Academic Research Library. pg. 16

Sharp, B.D. (2007)

Making the Most of Digital Imagery
Mathematics Teacher 100-9, May 2007, pp.590-593
free preview at

http://nctm.org/publications/mt.aspx?id=8594
van Dyke, F. & White, A. (2004) Making Graphs Count. Mathematics Teaching (188) pp. 42-45

Students do not make the Cartesian connection

van Dyke, F. & White, A. (2004) Making Graphs Count. Mathematics Teaching (188) pp. 42-45

Students do not make the Cartesian connection

Students simply do not see the connection and so do not

take advantage of graphs to solve an equation.

Only 35% of the students tested saw that (12,1) provided

them with a solution to the equation. Overall, students on
average correctly answered only one out of four questions
concerning the Cartesian connection. Many students, when
interviewed, said that when they saw the word solution
they immediately felt they had to do some algebraic
process in order to discover some unknown quantity. We
need to be aware that students often associate terms in
mathematics with set procedures and in general feel that
doing mathematics always entails algebraic manipulation.
van Dyke, F. & White, A. (2004) Making Graphs Count. Mathematics Teaching (188) pp. 42-45

Students have difficulty using functional notation with graphs

Knuth, E. (2000). Student Understanding of the Cartesian Connection: An Exploratory Study. Journal for Research in
Mathematics Education. 31(4), 500-508.

http://www.jstor.org/view/00218251/ap020152/02a00060/0
Knuth, E. (2000). Understanding connections between equations and graphs. The Mathematics Teacher. 93(1), 48-53.

Only 1/5 of the 35 students responded

that finding a solution without the
missing coefficient was possible,
although the most obvious response
was that the coordinates of any point
on the graph would yield a solution.

... the majority of students did not

perceive that the graph had any
relevant information that would directly
contribute to finding a solution.

http://math.buffalostate.edu/~mcmillen/Kunth.pdf
Knuth, E. (2000). Understanding connections between equations and graphs. The Mathematics Teacher. 93(1), 48-53.

Students solved part (b) primarily in

two ways: (1) rewriting the equation in
slope-intercept form and using the
slope found from the graph to find the
missing coefficient; or (2) substituting
an x-value and its corresponding y-
value, both found from the graph, into
the equation and solving for the
missing coefficient.

75% of the students selected the former

method, ... only 3 students used the
latter method.

http://math.buffalostate.edu/~mcmillen/Kunth.pdf
Knuth, E. (2000). Understanding connections between equations and graphs. The Mathematics Teacher. 93(1), 48-53.

Ironically, a number of students

responded to part (a) by stating that
finding a solution was impossible
without the missing coefficient;
however, these same students
responded to part (b) by stating that
using the graph would allow them to
find the missing coefficient.

... these students did not recognize that

the procedures that they used relied on
the fact that any point on a line is a
solution to the equation of the line.

http://math.buffalostate.edu/~mcmillen/Kunth.pdf