Geometry: Rocks, Papers and Toothpicks

 “Sticks and stones may not break my bones, but Geom might somewhat crush me!” Ever since math was introduced to me, geometry was the least of my favorite. I didn’t even know how I survived my high school geometry because solving angles or anything related to it I a brain teaser for me. To be honest, doing a discussion and a group report about geometry really gave me pressure to do good and to prove that geometry, in it hardest concepts, also has an easy side and that through this reporting, I may be able to convince myself that geometry is not just a mere collection of formulas, theorems and postulates, that what we learn from it has applications, too which can be beneficial to human and the society.

When we think of the word “geometry”, the first that we associate directly to it are shapes whether quadrilateral, triangle, pentagon and the like. Having the opportunity to introduce this field to our classmates, we started our first meeting with a form this shape game I called “Search and Form Me.”  Before our classmates entered the room, we already hid figures of different sizes and shapes. Per group, 7 shapes were each assigned to be formed into a bigger shape, the heart (since that was a Valentine’s Week). After all the instructions were given, teams were given an unlimited time to form the unifying shape until one group can form the said shape. It almost took 5 minutes for the first team, the Team Computers, to form the shape. They have been given the necessary points for winning the game and we proceeded to the next game.

The next game that we had is the toothpick game where figure analysis of each player was tested by moving or removing toothpicks to form the shape desired by the game master. Initially, they were given 24 toothpicks and formed it into shapes drawn on the board. The game master would then instruct “Remove 2 toothpicks to form three boxes.” After the go signal, the players then find way to remove toothpicks to form the shape instructed by the game master. Groups who got the right answer were given points. The game was divided into three categories, the easy round (2 points), the average round (3 points) and the difficult round (5 points) where the group having the highest accumulated points from this game plus the first game will win the so-called competition. The players were given 2-3 minutes (sometimes with extension) to finish the task. With this game, you can really see how those imaginative minds work since they were not allowed to move or remove the toothpicks unless they are sure of their answers. We also saw how each group brainstormed and united to beat the challenge. For the first 2 games, Group number Systems led the ranking.

We played the next game on our second meeting which is called the “Form-ulate me” game. Groups were given a mathematical formula corresponding to the formula of the volume, mass, circumference, diameter, or density of a certain shape. After hearing the formula, they have to form the shape through the use of their bodies. Unluckily, we considered the game void due to a problem or misunderstanding experienced by the class. We declared the group Number Systems as the over-all winner and then we presented our hilarious video presentation.

Our video presentation mostly talked about Euclidean Geometry and Non-Euclidean Geometry. We have been able to compare them and explained them through the shapes and lines seen in the buildings of the school. We also talked about the applications of geometry and even incorporated the concept of BBC: The Story of Maths to our video. The video took 8 minutes, full of facts.

Lastly, we had our debate or discussion about “What shape should buildings or any architectural designs have? Should it be a quadrilateral shape or a triangle?” The pros and the cons expressed their thoughts supporting their own stand on the issue. The pros (or the quadrilateral side) said that should be a quadrilateral since most of the buildings were already built that way and that it would save a space more than using a triangular-shaped building. They also claimed that quadrilateral shapes of buildings originated since the early times and mostly followed by a lot of people. The cons counterattacked the other group and pointed out that a triangular building is more stable because of its base and can stand better and stronger. The 2 groups exchanged views until the audience interacted and shared their knowledge about the topic. We had great time absorbing new information about geometry while talking about architecture. The debate ended with a stand that it is on the option of the person involved whether a quadrilateral or a triangular shape is better for buildings.

Overall, I felt great after all the presentations, games and debate were done because I learned something new and something better. It was really fortunate for me to change my views about a certain thing I disliked through my researches. It was also a great reward to hear the applause of other groups plus Ma’am Blasing’s “Job well done” words which gave us a sigh of relief. I realized that geometry really is fun and I would really try hard to discover more about this subject. Though there were some challenges met while we were preparing, all the efforts that we put through paid off, from shooting, video editing, to fact finding. Through rocks, papers and toothpicks, I realized how important geometry is to the lives of the people and how shapes and angles affect each one’s perspective about geometry.