I was not sure what to expect for the upcoming semester when I walked into Mrs. Watts’ classroom at the beginning of the year, but it definitely was not the task of spending two months assembling paper triangles. Technically, they are tetrahedrons, as each face of the shape is a triangle.

This endeavor started when we entered our sequences and series unit, which can be explained in simple terms as adding or multiplying over and over again. One triangle turns into four, then four turns into 16, 16 into 64, and so on. You multiply each assembly of triangles by four until you reach our final product, 512.

Having a visual representation of the concept we were learning in class helped me get a much stronger grasp of the function of the equation. The concept is so simple, but it is fascinating how these patterns show up everywhere-music, finances, architecture, etcetera. If there’s one thing I’ll take away from math class this year, it’ll definitely be assembling a geometric shape that is taller than me.

Left to right: Colin Corey, Ian Demus, and Bryan Tran pose with their sculpture

Story written by Emily O'Connor, posted on 11/16/2021