Problem of the Week Spiralateral

Problem Statement/Subject of Exploration:

a. A spiralateral is a sequence of line segments that forms a spiral-like shape. It is based on a sequence of numbers.

b. A spiralateral is formed by a repeating sequence of numbers. The first step to draw a spiralateral is know where you are going to start. Then go upward with the number you have chosen in your sequence and put an arrow at the end of the line segment. Then turn 90 degrees and draw the line with the next number. By doing this you will eventually create a pattern. Once you reach the original starting point it is considered finish. However some sequence won’t meet the starting point.

c. In this assignment I will explore the spiralaterals and come to up with some rules about them and state the conclusions. Whether these spiralaterals will reach the original point or will it never reach the original points.

Process/Information Gathering

a. My initial ideas concerning were how would 5, 6, 7 or more digit sequences would turn out like. Would these digits affect whether these spiralateral will be closed or open or would it not affect it at all. Another thing I want to know is how this relates to any topic in geometry and can you create a formula to find out if they close or not.

b. One method that I used while doing this question is trying to relate it to what makes up a triangle. Therefore I added up the first two numbers for the ones that closed and opened but that really didn’t work. Another method I used while doing this problem is trying to figure out what the pattern is for each one.

c. The problem that I had been getting mixed up on what number I had to draw next and drawing the line when it overlapped twice. I solved this by redoing it and trying to make it as neat as possible.

d. The assistants that I received are when we went over this problem of the