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Mixed Up Maths, Ep 7: Daredevil geometry

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Cartoon man rides motorbike
Mixed Up Maths, Ep 7: Daredevil geometry

SUBJECTS:  Maths

YEARS:  3–4


What does a daredevil jumps rider need to know about geometry?

Find out as we discover angles for take off and for landing. But before we do that sit down for some angles basics!

A good place to start is angles of turn through a circle from a 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, all the way to one full turn. See how many each represents as an angle


Things to think about

  1. 1.Did you know there are 360 degrees in a circle? Can you work out the angle of a 1/4 turn of a circle. A clue is it is also called a right angle. What about a circle divided in half? How many degrees would that equal? If you were advising a daredevil to jump as far as possible taking off from a ramp, what angle would you suggest? Why that angle?
  2. 2.Take note of the angles that equate to 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, and a full turn of a circle. Which one is equal to 180 degrees? Look at the ramp heights. What happens when the daredevil takes off at 15 degrees? What about taking off at 60 degrees? What angle seems to be a good take off angle to travel a good distance through the air?
  3. 3.A flip book has drawings close to its edge. When you flip the ends, the drawings look like they are animated. Make a flip book about a crocodile's jaw opening a few degrees every scene. Mark the angle at 15, 30, 45, 60 and 90 degrees. Use a protractor to measure these angles. See if you can draw its jaw opening up to 180 degree and then snap shut. Its a lot of fun!
  4. 4.Have some fun outside. Set up a ramp. Try the ramp at different angles such as 15, 30, 45 and 60 degrees. Roll a ball up the ramp, trying to keep about the same force each time. Try a number of trials at each ramp angle. What do you notice about where the ball lands each time? Take some measurements and explain your findings. What was the best take off height to travel the furthest distance through the air?


Acknowledgements

Produced by ABC Splash in collaboration with Suitcase Murphy.


Production Date: 2014


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation 2012 (except where otherwise indicated).

Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners.

Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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