Math Story : Sphere And Its Basic Properties
Who Hits The Cans?
It is a beautiful day. There are a lot of cans around them. It looks like the kids are playing with them. “Hey! I have a new game in mind. Let us play the new game?” asks Cirho. Everybody agrees.
Cirho arranges some cans in a V shape. “We need to hit the cans from a distance with an object such that all of them fall. Whoever does this wins”, he explains. All the kids love the new game and are excited to play it.
“But what object will we use to hit the cans?” questions Squarho. Cirho is clueless, he doesn’t have answer to Squarho’s question. “Ahh! Idea. Let us add a twist to the game. How about playing this game in teams and making our own objects? The team whose object successfully hit all the cans will win. Simple. Agree?” adds Cirho. Everybody likes the idea.
Squarho and Triho team up. Cirha and Cirho team up. They start planning about the object they can make. Squarho and Triho decide to make a cube. Cirha and Cirho decide to make a coin-like object.
Squarho and Triho roll their cube to hit the cans. “Thud!” the cube does not roll and stays in the place. Both of them are disappointed. Squarho loses his calm. “It is your fault Triho! We will loose because of you”, he says and starts blaming Triho for his bad performance.
Cirha and Cirho roll their coin. “Swoosh!” it rolls fast and reaches the cans. But, the coin passes through the can without hitting them. They are disappointed too. “It is okay. Let us give it another shot”, says Cirho. Both of them coordinate well and start making a new shape to hit the cans.
Uncle Math was secretly watching them play. He comes out and says, “Children, I know what object will help you in this game.” He grabs a ball and rolls it swiftly. “Crash!” the ball hits the cans, and all the cans fall.
The kids are elated yet confused. “This ball is nothing but a sphere. Observe it carefully. Does it have any sides and corners?” asks Uncle Math. “No!” say the kids unitedly. “Correct. A sphere has no corners and sides. It only has one curved face”, he explains.
“Oh! Because it has only one curved face, it can easily roll, unlike a cube or the coin”, says Triho. “Because it has only one curved face, it also looks the same from all the sides”, adds Cirha. Uncle Math agrees. He gives the ball to the kids and lets them play.
Finally, Squarho apologizes for being rude to Triho. “I was not a good team player Triho. Forgive me!” he says. Triho forgives Squarho. The kids promise to support each other, and not blame any one while working working together. All four of them play and have fun. A new game, sphere to the rescue and traits of a team player, it was a good day indeed.
We Learnt That…
- A sphere has no corners and edges. It has one curved face.
- A sphere looks the same from all sides.
- A sphere can easily roll.
- A good team player respects every member of the team irrespective of the result.
- A good team player does not blame the team for the results.
Let’s Discuss!
- What object did we make to hit the cans? Why were we not successful?
- What object did Uncle Math get for us? Why could we hit the cans using it?
- Squarho started misbehaving with Triho when they could not roll their cube. Was he right? Why or why not?
Please refer this guide by Fun2Do Labs for teaching solid shapes to kids :
