This is a level 5 geometry strand activity from the Figure It Out series.
A PDF of the student activity is included.
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draw different views of three dimensional shapes
interpret view drawings
FIO, Level 4+, Geometry, Book Two, Fair and Square, page 7
square grid paper
This activity builds on the previous three activities. Like them, it involves viewing objects from different directions. This time, the objects are more complex, and the supporting structure of dots and grids has been removed.
Although not obviously an exercise in scale drawing, the students will find that the best approach to question 1 is to take measurements from the illustration and use them to fix the location of the fairground attractions on the 5-by-5 grid. They can either use a scale that relates the measurements taken from the illustration to
the size of the squares on their paper or draw up their own grid to match the side of the town square in the illustration.The principle used to fix the location of the objects is illustrated in this diagram:
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Note that this method only defines the minimum rectangular space occupied by the object; it doesn't define its shape. All the following shapes could occupy the same rectangular space and would have the same two views:
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Measurement can also be used to fix the height of the objects. The heights are needed for questions 2 and 3.
As an extension to this activity, the students could make scale sketches of a feature of their school or their town from 2 directions that are at right angles to each other. They could then have a classmate draw the 2 opposing views, based on those sketches.
Answers to Activity
1. The top view should look similar to this (the tent can be rectangular and the ferris wheel can be in either marked position):
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2. The view from South Street should look similar to this:
3. The view from West Avenue should look similar to this:
