Students use The Geometer's Sketchpad software to draw a geometric figure on a computer screen, scale it larger or smaller, and then compare the lengths of the sides of the original with those of the scaled image. They also compare the areas of the two. Students are comfortable using a variety of approaches to the solution of proportion problems. They must compute sales tax and consider it in deciding what they will buy. Understand and apply the standard algebraic order of operations.
Students bring in calculators from home to examine their differences.
Some of the displays show 6 and others show 8 . Students decide what key sequence would work for the calculators that do not use order of operations. References Barry, David. A Mathematical Folktale from India. W. J. Freeman, 1995.