19. June 2017

Task of the Week: Stone

This week’s Task of the Week addresses, in particular, the modeling competence of the students. It is a question of approximating the weight of a stone as closely as possible by approximating the stone through a known body.


Task: Stone (task number: 1048)

What is the weight of the stone? 1cm³ weighs 2.8g. Give the result in kg.


In order to approach the object by means of a geometrical basic body, the students must refrain from slight deviations of the real object and the ideal body. In particular, a prism with a trapezoidal base side is suitable. If this step is done, the students determine the pages relevant to this body through measurements and then calculate its volume. The last step is the calculation of the weight with the given density as well as the conversion in kilograms.

With this task, it is especially nice to see that there is not always one correct result for mathematical questions. Through different approaches and measurements the pupils receive different results. In order to obtain the most accurate result as possible, the determined values ​​must be within a defined interval. Translating from reality into the “mathematical world” also plays a decisive role here in the sense of modeling competence.

The task requires knowledge about the basic geometrical bodies and in particular about the prism with a trapezoidal base surface. It is therefore to be classified in spatial geometry and can be solved from class 7.

Date: 19. June 2017 | By: Simone Jablonski | Category:  | No Comments

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