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Name __________________________
I've got that Geometry
BUG!
Geometry is found everywhere in
nature. The insect world provides a nice study of geometry. Insects constitute
between 70 and 80 percent of all known animals. Ever since the Carboniferous
period (200,000,000 years ago) insects have dominated animal life form. During
this early time, dragonflies sped through the air on wings with a spread of two
feet! Throughout time, insects have evolved and changed to meet the demands of
their environments. Some insects crawl or hop on land, some fly through the air,
and others live in the water.
 Various
characteristics of insects differentiate insects from all other animals. In an
insect's adult form, it has a hard outside skeleton called an exoskeleton, and a
body distinguished by three main divisions: head, thorax, and abdomen. It also
has one pair of antennae or feelers on its head and three pair of legs attached
to the thorax. Most winged insects have two pair of wings attached to the
thorax. There are also minute holes along each side of an insect called
spiracles. After doing further research, you will know more about the geometry
and purposes of a bug’s body.
Creating your Bug...
 
Look at the parts of an insect's body. Can you see
geometrical shapes? The body of an insect has many geometrical properties. In
our study of Geometry and Bugs, you are to use your imagination and your
knowledge of insects (including what you have learned from your research homework) to create a
fantastic geometry bug. Your bug should use a lot of geometrical shapes
and be colorful and unique since our bugs will only live in our room and in your
imaginations. You may use any type of material to make your bug - let your
imagination be your guide. The bugs are to be made entirely out of geometrical
shapes and contain the characteristics of insects. Your finished bug should fit
into a cube with a 10" side and if your bug has wings, its wingspan should not
be larger than 24". Make sure that if your bug is to fly you include a way
to hang it from our ceiling. If it is to crawl up the wall, there should be some
fairly easy way to attach it to the wall.
 Communicating your knowledge...
Write a story about your bug - "A day in the life of my Geometry Bug
". It should be at least two typed and spell-checked pages, double-spaced,
and use a normal font size (around 12 characters per inch). Include the
following information...
- Give it a name - hopefully something geometrical!
- Identify the shapes and geometrical properties that you used in creating
your "geometry bug".
- Tell why the bug has the geometrical shapes that you gave each of
its parts.
- Describe where it lives, how it moves, and what it would eat.
- Explain what geometrical challenges it faces.
- Give a complete bibliography of resources used for the paper and
the research questions.
Project
Description
Research
Questions
Student Work
Bug Web was created by Nancy
Powell and Cathy Denbesten for their geometry classes. Nancy is a former
Teachers Network web mentor.
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