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EuropeanJournalofScienceandMathematicsEducationVol.N,No.

N,201N

Polya and GeoGebra : A dynamic approach to problem solving.


AlfonsoMelndezAcua

DepartamentodeMatemticas,EscuelaColombianadeIngeniera,Bogot,Colombia.
Forcorrespondence:alfonso.melendez@escuelaing.edu.co
Abstract :
Problemsolvinghasbeeninvestigatedinmathematicseducationformorethan60yearsagowiththepioneeringwork
ofGeorgePolya(Polya,1965).Thefourstepsheproposes:understandtheproblem,deviseaplan,carryitoutand
lookbackstillapplyinmanyinstances.Inrecentyearstheemergenceofdynamicmathematicsshasenhancedthe
studentcreativeandheuristicsskillsallowingtheimmediateconstructionofmathematicalobjects,theirrelationships
andtheirinteractivemanipulation(Christou,Mousoulides,Pittalis&PittaPantazi,2005),thishasgeneratedgreat
interestinbuilding dynamiclearningscenariostosupportthedifferentstagesofproblem solving.Inthispapera
learningapproachtoproblemsolvingactivityusingGeoGebra,oneofthemostpopulartoolsofdynamicmathematics
ispresented.
Keywords:dynamicmathematics,GeoGebra,problemsolving,Geometry

Introduction
First,guess;thenprove...Finishedmathematicsconsistsofproofs,butmathematicsinthemaking
consistsofguesses(Plya,1966)
TheGeoGebraenvironmentisveryusefulasateachingandconceptualtoolatdifferentstagesofthe
problem solving methodology suggestedby GeorgePolya. Givena mathematical problem it is
possibleto understandit throughtheconstructionofadynamicmodel,wheretheirobjectsand
relationshipsareexplicit, usingthismodelthestudentcanformulate conjecturesand aplanto
validatethem.Tocarryouttheplanthesocalledvisualteststhatverifythecorrectnessofthesolution
totheproblemcanbe constructed.Finally,lookingbackyoucandiscovernewpropertiesofthe
objectsinvolvedintheproblemstatement,considerthefollowinggeometricproblem:
ConstructacirclewithcenterC,definetwopointsonitlocatedinthebottomofthecircle(AandB).JoinAto
CandBtoC,formingacentralangle(<ACB).
DefineapointDonthetopofthecircle,joinAwithDandBtoD,forminganinscribedangle(<ACB)
(Figure1).

Whatistherelationshipbetweenthetwoangles?
IsthisrelationshippreservedifA,BandDchangeofpositiononthecircle?

EuropeanJournalofScienceandMathematicsEducationVol.N,No.N,201N

Figure1
Step1.Understandingtheproblem
Forhelpingunderstandtheproblem,adynamicmodelisuseful(Figure2)to:

Dynamicallyvisualizetheproblemstatement.
Feedthemodelwithmeasuresofsegmentsandanglesthathelpformulateconjectures.
Analyzemultipleinstancesoftheproblem"dragging"thedifferentelements(point,circle).

Figure2

EuropeanJournalofScienceandMathematicsEducationVol.N,No.N,201N

Step2.Designaplan
Once thedynamicmodelisconstructed(ifnecessary,with teacher'shelp)thestudentcaneasily
conjectureabouttherelationshipbetweentheangles.Inthiscasethecentralangleseemstwicethe
exteriorangleifthepointDisonthetopofthecircle,butthisrelationshipdoesnotholdifDpointD
isplacedbelowpointsAandB(Figure3).

Figure3
Step3.Carryouttheplan
Thedynamicmodelallowsanalyzingspecialcasesthatleadtounderstandingtheoverallrelationship
betweentheangles,anideathatmayariseisplacingAandDdiametricallyopposite(Figure4).

EuropeanJournalofScienceandMathematicsEducationVol.N,No.N,201N

Figure4
ItiseasytoseethattriangleBCDisanisoscelestriangle(BC=BD)andthecentralangleatCisan
exteriorangle,so = 2 . Howtogofromheretothegeneralcase?ByconsideringthediameterAD
anddragingthepointDweobtainafigurewherethestudentcaneasilygettheproof = 2 by
consideringtheisosceles trianglesACDandBCDandnotingthatangles <ACE and <ECBare
respectivelyexteriorangles,thussolvingtheproblemincasepointDisatthetop(figure5).

Figure5

EuropeanJournalofScienceandMathematicsEducationVol.N,No.N,201N

Step4.Lookingback

LookingbackatStep3wecanfindthesolutioninthecasewherethepointDislocatedatthebottom.
AspecialcasethatcanbeusefuliswhenAandBarediametricallyopposite.Inthiscasetheangleat
D is a right angle (this result is known as Thales' theorem). By building with GeoGebra the
symmetricpointtoDwithrespecttothecenterC(D'=)andjoiningAandBwithD'weobtainthe
followingfigure(Figure6).

Figure6
HereweseethatanglesatDandD'arerightanglesandbydraggingAandBthesumofthesetwo
angles( and )isalwaysequaltotworightangles(Figure7).

Figure7

EuropeanJournalofScienceandMathematicsEducationVol.N,No.N,201N

Therelationshipoftheanglesinthiscaseis = 180 /2.


Conclusions
DynamicMathematicsallowvisualizemathematicalobjectsinmotionanddevelopavisual
understandingofmathematicalconceptsandtherelationshipsbetweenthem(MorenoEyeBolt&
Kaput,2008)
Onceanunderstandingoftheobjectsandtheirrelationshipdevelops,followsthestageof"collect"
datatotestconjecturesbydraggingdifferentmodelobjectsinGeoGebra.
GeoGebraisasuitableworkingenvironmentforsolvingmathematicalproblems.
References
Christou,C.,Mousoulides,N.,PittalisM.,&PittaPantazi,D.(2005).Problemsolvingandproblem
posinginadynamicgeometryenvironment.TheMontanaMathematicsEnthusiast,2(2),125
143.
MorenoArmella,L.,Hegedus,StephenJ.&Kaput,J.J.(2008).FromStatictoDynamicMathematics:
HistoricalandRepresentationalPerspectives.EducationalStudiesinMathematics,68(2),99111.
Polya,G.(1965).

Comoplantearyresolverproblemas

.Mexico:Trillas.

Radford,L.(1994)Laenseanzadelademostracin:aspectostericosyprcticos,Educacin
Matemtica,6,3,2151.s,

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