Interior and Exterior Angles in Polygons Exploration

INSTRUCTIONS
Experiment with the sliders for each polygon and answer the questions along the way.[br]You can also move the vertices (white dots) to change the shape of each polygon.[br]Have fun!
Triangle
Interior angles in a Triangle
Move the slider "Show Interior Angles" slowly and watch what happens.[br]What is the best description of the angle that is created by the sum of these angles?
Interior angles in a Triangle
Move the slider "Show Interior Angles" slowly and watch what happens.[br]What is the sum of the interior angles in any triangle?[br]You can change the shape of the triangle by moving vertices.
Interior Angles - Explanation
Justify your answer to the above question, how do you know from the applet?
Exterior Angles in a Triangle
Now play with the slider "Show Exterior Angles" and notice what happens when you slide it all the way to the right side.[br]What is the best description for the sum of the exterior angles?
Quadrilateral
Interior Angles in a Quadrilateral
Move the slider "Show Interior Angles" slowly and watch what happens once it gets to the right side.[br]How many triangles are created inside the quadrilateral? Write your answer as a number.[br]You can change the shape of the quadrilateral by moving the vertices.
Interior Angles in a Quadrilateral - Making connections
Using our previous answer and the fact that the sum of the interior angles in a triangle = 180[sup]o[br][/sup]we can determine the sum of the interior angles of a quadrilateral.[br]Which is the correct calculation?
Exterior angles in a Quadrilateral
Now move the slider "Show Exterior Angles" slowly to the right and notice what happens when it gets to the end.[br]What is the sum of the exterior angles of a quadrilateral?
Pentagon
Interior Angles in a Pentagon
Move the slider "Show Interior Angles" slowly and watch what happens once it gets to the right side.[br]How many triangles are created inside the pentagon? Write your answer as a number.[br]You can change the shape of the quadrilateral by moving the vertices.
Pentagon
Using our previous answer and the fact that the sum of the interior angles in a triangle = 180[sup]o[br][/sup]we can determine the sum of the interior angles of a pentagon.[br]Which is the correct calculation?
Exterior angles in a Pentagon
Now move the slider "Show Exterior Angles" slowly to the right and notice what happens when it gets to the end.[br]What shape is made by the sum of the exterior angles and how many degrees does it equal?
Hexagon
Hexagon
Move the slider "Show Interior Angles" slowly and watch what happens once it gets to the right side.[br]How many triangles are created inside the hexagon? Write your answer as a number.[br]
Interior Angles in a Hexagon - Making connections
Using our previous answer and the fact that the sum of the interior angles in a triangle = 180[sup]o[br][/sup]we can determine the sum of the interior angles of a hexagon.[br]Which is the correct calculation?
Exterior angles in a Hexagon
Now move the slider "Show Exterior Angles" slowly to the right and notice what happens when it gets to the end.[br]What is the sum of the exterior angles?
Reflecting
Give me two ideas of what you discovered in this activity.
The Heptagon - sum of interior angles.
A heptagon is a polygon with 7 sides.[br]Based on what you have experienced here, see if you can come up with a way to find out the [b][i]sum of the interior angles [/i][/b]for this shape.
The Heptagon - sum of exterior angles.
What would be the[b][i] sum of the exterior angles[/i][/b] of a heptagon?
Close

Information: Interior and Exterior Angles in Polygons Exploration