POW #1 Equally

Watered
1. Two delicate flowers were planted in a garden. The
gardener, Leslie, has a sprinkler that sprays water around in
a circle. The closer a flower is to the sprinkler, the more water
it gets.
To be sure that her flowers each get the same amount of
water, Leslie needs to place the sprinkler where it will be the same distance from
each of the flowers.
What are her choices about where to put the sprinkler? Describe all the possibilities.
(Reminder: The flowers are already in place, and Leslie needs to adjust the position
of the sprinkler relative to the flowers.)

2. Now suppose Leslie plants three flowers and wants to know if it will still be
possible to place the sprinkler the same distance from all three.

a. Determine which arrangements of the flowers (if any) will make this possible
and which (if any) will make it impossible. (As in Question 1, Leslie will be
looking for a place to put the sprinkler after the flowers have already been
planted.)

b. For those arrangements for which it will be possible, describe how Leslie
can find the correct location (or locations) for the sprinkler.

3. What about four flowers? Five flowers? Generalize as much as you can.
Your POW is to explain as fully as possible, for various cases, where Leslie can put
the sprinkler in order to give the flowers the same amount of water. Homework 2:
Only Two Flowers gets you started with the first question of the POW.

Write-up
1. Problem Statement:
If you have two identical points (points b1+ b2) that need to be the same
distance from point a how would you arrange the points.

2. Process:
The process I followed to complete this pow was fairly simple. To start I
read through the entire document and highlighted key information. Then I
began to visualize each of the points and considered where I would put each
of the flowers. I decided that putting the sprinkler directly in the middle of the
flowers would give each of them an equal amount of water. This would work
for any amount of flowers beauces you can make the radius of the circle
bigger depending on how many flowers you add. I drew it out to make sure it
would be the same distance and as long as the sprinkler is in the middle of
the flowers it will work. Finally I conversed with my table mates and they
agreed with my conclusion. After that I looked at other ways you could lay out
the points. Like if they were all in a line they would not all be equal distance
from point a.

3. Work:
In my second model it shows the flowers planted in a straight line with
the sprinkler below it. If you planted your flowers like this all of the plants
would not get qually watered because the water is hitting the middle
flower more than the rest. They are farther away than the middle one,
this would stay the same no matter how many flowers you had.
4. Solution:
If you have all of your flowers planted in a circle, or a line for two, as long
as the sprinkler is directly in the middle of the arranged flowers. Then it will
work with any amount of flowers. The only pattern I found was that the more
flowers you have will cause you to increase the radius of your flower circle.

5. Evaluation:
The strategy I used just made the most sense for the situation at hand
because it was something that we could visualize. Also it was the only
arrangement that works for larger numbers.

Grading Rubric
POW #1 Equally Watered Write-up Rubric
Self-Grade Points
Problem Statement State the problem in mathematical language
without reference to the context. That is, describe the problem in 1/ 1
geometric terms without talking about flowers or sprinklers.
Process A good Process should clearly describe all methods that you
tried in detail. If a method was unsuccessful, what did you learn from it
and how did it shape your next approach to the problem? This section
of your paper should outline your methods tried from the start of this
problem to the end, regardless of whether or not you were able to find a 4/4
solution. If you received assistance, describe how it helped (or didn’t
help) you and what ideas or methods resulted from this assistance. This
is for you to show me your thinking and the direction that you went with
the problem.
Work Demonstrate the work that you use to find the solution.
Show any and all work that you did to find the answer for 2, 3 and
4 flowers. This can be in the form of screenshots, written work, or
3/3
any other methods that you decide to use.
Solution Clearly state your answer for 2, 3 and 4 flowers.
Describe any patterns or formulas you found.
1/1
Evaluation Your reaction to and evaluation of this POW. Describe your
work on the POW.
1/1
10/10