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Mixed Up Maths, Ep 13: Shapes glorious shapes

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Illustration of 3d box shape with text prism beside it
Mixed Up Maths, Ep 13: Shapes glorious shapes

SUBJECTS:  Maths

YEARS:  3–4, 5–6

Did you know that not all pyramids have a square base?

Investigate the bases and faces of some pyramids. Travel around the world as we view some famous structures.

First stop, we're in search of a building that is a rectangular prism. Find out which world famous building is a pentagonal prism. See what type of 3 dimensional object best describes the London eye.


Things to think about

  1. 1.A cube is a 3 dimensional (3D) object made up of six faces. What shape is each face? Can you describe the 3D object we call a pyramid? What might be the shape of its base? How many faces would it then have? Look at a cereal box. What shapes is it made up of? Do you know the name of this 3D object?
  2. 2.What shape was the base of each pyramid? How many faces did each type of pyramid have? Look for the famous structures from around the world. What were they and what 3D shape did they resemble? What terms were used to describe each 3D object?
  3. 3.Make a sketch of the four 3D objects shown. Describe the shapes that make up the object. Grab a soup can. Make a new label for the can that wraps fully around it. What shape is the paper you wrap around the can? What shape is the base of the can? Carefully pull apart a cereal box and explore the net (the shapes that make up the 3D object). See how they add flaps to join the sides to the bases.
  4. 4.See if you can make your own die for a board game. You will need to make a net which when joined together makes the cube shape. A cube has 6 faces with each one being square. Six squares end to end won't make a correct net. Try making the shape of a cross. Download nets of some 3D objects to make your own collection.


Acknowledgements

Produced by ABC Splash in collaboration with Suitcase Murphy.


Production Date: 2014


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated).

Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated).

Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners.

Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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