Metalwork activities – text version
1. Are you ready ?
There is a short quiz to take before you start. You can access the text version of this quiz
in the section ‘Are you ready?’ on the page that you came from.
2. Tools of the trade
In the next few sections you will be asked to create some shapes - just like a
metalworker who cuts and solders metal to create shapes.
3. Start your apprenticeship
Investigating the areas of rectangles and triangles.
1. On a piece of paper, construct a rectangle.
2. Find a way to cut up the paper to form a right-angled triangle with half of the area of
the rectangle.
3. On a new piece of paper, construct a rectangle.
4. Find a way to cut up the paper to form an isosceles triangle with half of the area of
the rectangle.
5. On a piece of paper, construct a rectangle.
6. Find a way to cut up the paper to form a scalene triangle with half of the area of the
rectangle.
7. Two different rectangles have an area of 6 square centimetres. What could their
dimensions be?
8. Start with a rectangle with dimensions 6cm and 4cm. Can you find a way to cut out
an obtuse-angled triangle with an area of 6 square centimetres?
4. Work experience
Investigating the area of a parallelogram
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On a piece of paper, construct a parallelogram that is not a rectangle.
Find a way to cut up the parallelogram and put the pieces it back together so that a
rectangle is formed.
Measure the length and width of the rectangle and find its area.
Investigating the area of a rhombus
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On a piece of paper, construct a rhombus that is not a square.
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Cut out the rhombus, then cut it along its diagonals. You should have four pieces. Put
the pieces together to form a rectangle.
Measure the length and width of the rectangle and find its area.
Now on a new piece of paper construct a rectangle.
Find a way to cut up the rectangle and put the pieces back together so that two
identical rhombuses are formed.
Investigating the area of a kite
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On a piece of paper, construct a kite.
Find a way to cut up the kite and put the pieces back together so that a rectangle is
formed.
Measure the length and width of the rectangle and find its area.
Now on a new piece of paper construct a rectangle.
Find a way to cut up the rectangle and put the pieces back together so that two
identical kites are formed.
Investigating the area of a trapezium
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On a piece of paper, construct a trapezium that is not a parallelogram.
Find a way to cut up the paper and put the pieces back together so that a
parallelogram is formed.
Find the area of the parallelogram.
5. Ready to earn
Find out if you have understood area by finding the areas of the following shapes:
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2.
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5.
a rectangle with sides of length 3cm and 4cm.
a triangle with a base length of 6cm and a height of 8cm.
a rhombus with diagonals of length 6cm and 10cm.
a kite with diagonals of length 3cm and 2cm.
a trapezium with a height of 10cm, and with parallel sides of length 4cm and 11cm.
6. Don’t knock off early!
Find the areas of these tricky shapes:
1. a pentagon that consists of a rectangle with sides 3cm and 4cm, joined to a triangle
with a base length of 4cm and a height of 8cm.
2. a hexagon that consists of two trapeziums, each with a height of 3cm, and with
parallel sides of length 2cm and 8cm.