MATH FOOTBALL??

The Process…

During math we were instructed to create a football (soccer ball) using spaghetti and marshmallows.  It took a minute or so for our group to feel comfortable with each other but when we finally did, the ideas started flowing.  Triangles, hexagons, pentagons.  We first began making triangular pyramids which then where connected to the sides of a cube.  We kept making and connecting them until we had a semi-round shape.

 

Changes…

throughout the construction of the football we ran into one major problem.  The weight of the ball itself was to heavy for the base and the figure began collapsing in on itself.  This was an easy fix however.  ADD MORE TRIANGLES!!!  Once the triangles were added the figure became stronger and sturdier.

 

How Is This Math???

This is part of mathematics in the sense that it involves different shapes and combining shapes to create a figure.  Footballs are made of different shape materials joined together and inflated to make a sphere.