Tasks | Early Adolescence | Surface Area

Tasks - Early Adolescence

Surface Area   by Richard Grey, Curriculum Council

Phase of Development:   Early Adolescence

Learning Area/s:	Mathematics, Science
Strand/s	Substrand/s
Working Mathematically	Contextualise Strategies
Measurement	Units Indirect measure
Algebra	Understand symbols
Chance & Data	Collect & organise Data Summarise & represent Interpret data
Number	Understand operations
Brief Description:	Students calculate the volume and surface area of prisms with constant length and width , then plot the surface area to volume ratio against the height of the prism.
Expected Outcomes:	Calculate the volume and surface area of a prism. Tabulate data on a spreadsheet. Understand symbolic representation of spreadsheet formula. Plot data using the spreadsheet or a graphics calculator.
Context:	This activity is designed to use with students who know and understand how to calculate surface area and volume. Students also need to be familiar with spreadsheets.
Learning Activities/ Experience:	1. The length and width of a rectangular prism are held constant, but the height of the prism is allowed to change. 2. Complete the spreadsheet below for a rectangular prism in which the length is 6 cm, the width is 4 cm and the height varies from 1 to 5 cm. Use formula to calculate missing cells. No. A B C D E F 1 Length (l) Width (w) Height (h) SA = 2lw+2lh+2hw v = lwh SA : V 2 6 cm 4 cm 1 cm       3             4             5             6 6 cm 4 cm 5 cm       3. Graph the ratios in column F against the height of the prism. 4. Use the graph to help explain why small children dehydrate more rapidly than adults.