ADDITIONAL MATHEMATICS

PROJECT WORK SPM 2/2015

QUESTION 2
(Concept of triangle in daily life)

Index
No.

Info

Page

Title

Index

Introduction

Part 1:
a. Concept of triangles
b. Examples of its uses in daily life

4-6

Part 2:
a. Equilateral triangles
b. Area of equilateral triangles

7-11

Part 3

12-14

Further exploration

15

Reflection

16

INTRODUCTION

An old woman wishes to prepare a piece of traditional blanket for her grandchild. She
wants to make use of those small pieces of cloth left behind to cut into equilateral
triangles and joints all shapes together.
AIM

The aim of this project work is to apply concept of triangle in daily life
Objectives
At the end of this project work, you will be able to:
i)
ii)
iii)

Identify the triangle.

Identify method used to calculate the area of triangle ,
Study and analysis the relation between area and length of triangle

Part 1(a): Concept of triangle

A closed figure bounded by three line segments is called a triangle. A triangle has
three sides, three angles and three vertices. A triangle has three sides, three angles and
three vertices. The three sides and the three angles are called the six components of a
triangle.
A triangle divides a plane into three parts :

The part with the collection of all the points inside the triangle.
The part with the collection of all the points on the triangle, or the triangle itself.
The part with the collection of all the points outside the triangle.

The part with the collection of all the points inside the triangle is called the interior of the
triangle, while the part with the collection of all the points outside the triangle is called
the exterior of the triangle.
Vertex of a triangle
Two adjacent sides of a triangle intersect at a point called a vertex. The plural of vertex is
vertices. Every two adjacent sides include an angle. The angle is named after the vertex.
Exterior angle
The angles obtained on extending the sides of a triangle are called the exterior angle. An
exterior angle and the corresponding interior adjacent angle of a triangle form a linear
pair. The sum of the measures of an exterior angle and the corresponding interior adjacent
angle is equal to 180. The sum of the lengths of any two sides of a triangle is always
greater than the length of the third side.

Right angled triangle

Acute triangle

Isosceles triangle

Obtuse triangle

Equilateral triangle

Part 1(b) Uses of triangles in daily life

Triangles in engineering and architecture

As mentioned above, Pythagoras' theorem is an incredibly important theory.
However, its importance goes beyond the field of pure mathematics and spans
other fields including engineering and architecture. Disciplines such as these,
which focus a great deal upon the safe distribution of weight or force, for
example, rely heavily on Pythagoras' theorem, which is entirely concerned with
triangles.
Furthermore, many bridges and other similar structures are often designed
to include triangle shapes, as these shapes are able to withstand a great amount of
pressure (in a similar way to arches). Because of the way that triangles disperse
pressure throughout their shape, they are able to withstand more pressure than a
differently-shaped object (for example, a square) of the same size.

Triangles in astronomy
Principles of trigonometry, or the study of triangles, are used widely in
fields such as astronomy, space travel and communication in ways that I, as a nonastronomer, cannot even begin to understand. However, my research suggests that
trigonometry plays a role in aspects of astronomy such as deciding how far about
the earth a satellite dish should be placed.

Rooftops

Signboards

Pyramids
6

Part 2: Equilateral triangles

In geometry, an equilateral triangle is a triangle in which all three sides are equal. In
traditional or Euclidean geometry, equilateral triangles are also equiangular; that is, all
three internal angles are also congruent to each other and are each 60. They are regular
polygons, and can therefore also be referred to as regular triangles.
a) 5 equilateral triangles which have different length :

b)

x cm

x cm

x
2

If

x
2

cm

cm

is the length of a side of the equilateral triangle and

the

1
height then this rectangle has area 2 x . h , and hence, by
2

Pythagoras theoram
Therefore,

3
A= x 2
2

1
x 2=h2 +( x ) .
2

Thus,

h=

3 2
x
4

c)
(i) Method 1 - Formula (Equilaretal Triangle 1 3cm)
1
A= bh
2
h=3 21.52
1
A= (3)(2.6)
2

h=2.6 cm

A=3.9 cm 2

Method 2 Coordinate Geometry

7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
-2

-1

-1

10

-2

A=

A=

A x ( B y C y ) + B x ( C y A y )+ C x ( A y B y )
2

2 ( 3.61 ) +3.5 ( 11 ) +5 ( 13.6 )

2

|
9

A=

2 ( 2.6 )+3.5 ( 0 )+ 5(2.6)

2

2
A= 3.94 unit

(ii) Method 1 - Formula (Equilaretal Triangle 1 4cm)

1
A= bh
2
h= 42 22

h=3.5 cm

1
A= (4)(4.5)
2

A=7 cm2

Method 2 Coordinate Geometry

7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
-2

-1

-1

10

-2

A=

A= |

A x ( B y C y ) + B x ( C y A y )+ C x ( A y B y )
2

2 ( 4.51 ) + 4 ( 11 ) +6(14.5)
2

10

A=

2 ( 3.5 ) + 4 ( 0 ) +6 (3.5)
2

2
A= 7 unit

(iii) Method 1 - Formula (Equilaretal Triangle 1 6cm)

1
A= bh
2
h=6 232

h=5.2cm

1
A= (6)(5.2)
2

A=15.6 cm

Method 2 Coordinate Geometry

7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
-2

-1

-1

10

-2

11

A=

|
A= |
A=

A x ( B y C y ) + B x ( C y A y )+ C x ( A y B y )
2

2 ( 6.21 )+ 5 ( 11 )+ 8(16.2)
2

2 ( 5.2 ) +5 ( 0 ) +8 (5.2)
2

2
A= 15.6 unit

Part 3
a.

12

No.
1
2
3
4
5

Length (x cm)
5
8
11
14
22

(x)
25
64
121
196
484

Area (A)
10.8
27.7
52.4
84.9
209.6

6
32
1024
443.4
7
43
1849
800.6
8
50
2500
1082.5
9
65
4225
1829.5
b.
10
70
4900
2121.8
11
85
7225
3128.5
12
90
8100
3507.4
13
192
36864
15962.6
14
282
79524
34434.9
15
321
103041
44618.1
16
433
187489
81185.1
17
543
294849
127673.4
18
677
458329
198462.3
19
740
547600
237117.8
20
830
688900
298302.5
21
950
902500
390794.0
22
1050
1102500
477396.5
23
2000
4000000
1732050.8
24
3626
13147876
5693197.3
25
4225
17850625
7729547.4
of Area (A) against length (x) and Graph of Area (A) against x are plotted
below.

G
r
a
p
h

13

Graph of Area against Length

9000000
8000000
7000000
6000000
5000000
4000000
3000000
2000000
1000000
0
0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

Graph of Area against Length

9000000
8000000
7000000
6000000
5000000
4000000
3000000
2000000
1000000
0
0

5000000

10000000

15000000

20000000

14

c) Graph of Area (A) against length (x) shows an exponential graph while the graph
of Area (A) against x shows a linear graph. This shows that when the Area of
graph increases the value of the length square increases proportionally. The basic
property of exponentials is that they change by a given proportion over a set
interval. In this case, the length of sides has changed by a constant proportion as
the changes due to the 3 sided of triangle.
d)
A
A
x
x
2.2
3.5
4.8
6.1
9.5
13.9
18.6
21.7
28.1
30.3
36.8
39.0
83.1
122.1
139.0
187.5
235.1
293.1
320.4
359.4
411.4
454.7
866.0
1570.1
1829.5
The value of

A
x

0.43
0.43
0.43
0.43
0.43
0.43
0.43
0.43
0.43
0.43
0.43
0.43
0.43
0.43
0.43
0.43
0.43
0.43
0.43
0.43
0.43
0.43
0.43
0.43
0.43

shows almost similar value which is 0.43 while the

A
x

shows a

constant
increase in the values. This is due to the formula cracked earlier in PART 2 (b). The
3
3
x
formula of area is A = 4
thus when we divide by x, the value left is 4
which is

15

equal to 0.43, while when divide by x, we will get

3
x
, where all the resulting
4

value
are 0.43 multiply by the value of x.

Further Exploration
a) Let the size of the traditional blanket to be 40'' x 75'' (101.6 cm x 190.5 cm)
The area of the traditional blanket is A = 19354.8 cm.
Assume that, the length of the equilateral triangle used is 5cm. Thus the area of
the equilateral triangle is A= 10.8cm.
The total number of equilateral triangle required to be joined :
19354.8 cm
10.8 cm

= 1792.1

Approximately 1792 number of triangles are required to form a traditional

blanket with size of 101.6 cm x 190.5 cm.
b)

16

Reflection
Through this project, I have managed to:
1. Acquire effective mathematical communication though oral and writing and to use the
language of mathematics to express mathematical ideas correctly and precisely.
2. Increase interest and confidence as well as enhance acquisition of mathematical
knowledge and skills through application of various strategies of problem solving.
3. Develop knowledge and skills that are useful for career and future undertakings.
4. Realize that mathematics is an important and powerful tool in solving real-life problems
and hence develop positive attitude towards mathematics.
5. To collaborate, to cooperate, and to share knowledge in an engaging and healthy
environment.
6. Use technology especially the ICT appropriately and effectively.
7. To appreciate the intrinsic values of mathematics and to become more creative and
8.

innovative.
Realize the importance and the beauty of mathematics.

REFERENCE
1.
2.

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=triangle+in+every+day+use
mathematics reference books

APPRECIATION
I would like thank the following for helping and guiding me in accomplishing this project :
1.
2.
3.

My teacher.
My friends.
My parents.

17

ADDITIONAL MATHEMATICS
PROJECT WORK SPM 2/2015

Name : Sylvia Lee Jia Wern

School : SMJK Heng Ee
Angka Giliran : PC017A145

18