Pyramids

We started our exploration of pyramids today with a challenge.  It was based off of work done yesterday.  Today’s challenge was to build a pyramid with a volume of 300 cubic centimetres.

We made plans, decided on dimensions that we thought would work…

Cut out pieces….

And taped them together…

Some groups made long tall pyramids,

Others made short flat pyramids

Some of our pyramids ended up shorter than we had planned….

We need to use the pythagorean theorem when we design pyramids like this.  We had figure out what height we wanted the pyramid to be overall, but that is not the same as the height of each individual triangle that makes up the side of the pyramid.  

Some of us were challenged today by the openness of the task, and lack of direct instruction at the start.  No, we have never learned about pyramids, but we have the ability to think, and reason, and try things, and work through a problem even if (at the start) we have no idea how to get to the end.  It’s not always a comfortable feeling, but this struggle is a productive one, and we learn that it’s ok to try, and it’s ok to be pushed out of your comfort zone, because that’s where the most growth can happen.