MTH2o8A – Geometry

A
Unit 1 Project Two Worlds Collide
One: The Written Word – Linguistic, Figurative, Descriptive, and Metaphorical
The other: Mathematical Communication – Symbolic, Literal, Multi-Dimensional, and Logical
When these two worlds combine, something magical happens!

Many authors have delved into descriptions of mathematics in the form of story-telling:

Just to name a few . . .

(The images are links to sites where you can read a description of and/or buy the book)

For our Unit 1 Geometry Project, we will use the last book here as our inspiration:
Juster, Norton. The Dot & The Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics. Chronical Books, 2001.

For an introduction to this book, please watch this 10(ish) minute “movie”, where the narration is the
book, read aloud, almost verbatim (video has been edited for content). MGM used the illustrations
from the book, added narration, and made it into this animated short film: Click Here

Originally published in 1963, Norton Juster uses play on words and literary puns to make the math both
informative and entertaining. The story was inspired by Edwin Abbott’s novel, Flatland: A Romance
of Many Dimensions (Abbott, Edwin Abbott. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. Penguin
Classics, 2020.), originally published in 1884.
The Project:

Write your own short story, using the story of The Dot and The Line as your inspiration.
Integrate the vocabulary, ideas, concepts, postulates, and theorems presented in Unit 1 of our
course into your story.
The project dropbox will not be available for submission until the Unit 1 Test is submitted (earning
more than 0%). The project is worth 55 points (with potential for 4 Extra Credit Points – see below).
Students may submit one revision of the project to earn maximum points. Please use feedback from
the original submission to identify where editions are necessary. The initial submission must be
submitted before Friday, September 2nd to be eligible for a revision. Extra Credit not earned on the
original submission will not be awarded on a revision effort.

Project Requirements:

The story must include:

 Two or more characters (with names, mathematical notation and descriptions)

 Interesting plot (Introduction, Conflict, Climax, and Resolution)
 One or more geometric definitions from Unit 1
 One or more theorems/postulates from Unit 1
 A minimum of 2 pages, meeting the following requirements: typed, Times New Roman Font,
size 12, 1.5 line spacing maximum, and maximum of 1 inch margins

Project Grading Rubric: (How to earn Extra Credit can be found at the end of this document)

To earn an A, the project will include all of the following:

 Two or more characters (with names, mathematical notation and descriptions)

 Interesting plot (Introduction, Conflict, Climax, and Resolution)
 One or more geometric definitions from Unit 1
 One or more theorems/postulates from Unit 1
 A creative flair/Interesting to read
 Correct punctuation, grammar, spelling and capitalization
 All mathematical references are correct and accurate
 A minimum of 2 pages, meeting the following requirements: typed, Times New Roman Font, size 12,
1.5 line spacing, and maximum of 1-inch margins

To earn a B, the project will include one or more of the following:

 Two or more characters (with names, mathematical notation, and descriptions)

 Interesting plot (Introduction, Conflict, Climax, and Resolution)
 One or more geometric definitions from Unit 1
 One or more theorems/postulates from Unit 1
  A creative flair/Somewhat interesting to read
 A few errors in punctuation, grammar, spelling and/or capitalization
 A few errors regarding mathematical references
 A minimum of 2 pages, meeting the following requirements: typed, Times New Roman Font, size 12,
1.5 line spacing, and maximum of 1 inch margins

To earn a C, the project will include one or more of the following:

 Two or more characters (with names, mathematical notation and descriptions)

 Interesting plot (Introduction, Conflict, Climax, and Resolution)
 One or more geometric definitions from Unit 1
 One or more theorems/postulates from Unit 1
 Several errors in punctuation, grammar, spelling and/or capitalization
 Several regarding mathematical references
 A minimum of 2 pages, meeting the following requirements: typed, Times New Roman Font, size 12,
1.5 line spacing, and maximum of 1 inch margins

To earn a D, The project will include one or more of the following:

 Two or more characters (with names, mathematical notation and descriptions)

 A plot (Introduction, Conflict, Climax, and Resolution)
 One geometric definition from Unit 1
 One theorem/postulate from Unit 1
 Several errors in punctuation, grammar, spelling and/or capitalization
 Several errors regarding mathematical references
 A minimum of 2 pages, meeting the following requirements: typed, Times New Roman Font, size 12,
1.5 line spacing, and maximum of 1 inch margins

Projects earning an F will be missing one or more required elements:

 Two characters (with names, mathematical notation and descriptions)

 Plot (Introduction, Conflict, Climax, and Resolution)
 Geometric definition from Unit 1
 Theorem/Postulate from Unit 1
 Correct punctuation, grammar, spelling and capitalization
 2 pages: typed, Times New Roman Font, size 12, 1.5 line spacing, and 1 inch margins

Extra Credit will be awarded for:

 A third (or more) full page(s) of story (up to 1 point EC)

 A second (or more) Geometric definition from Unit 1 (up to 1 point EC)
 A second (or more) Theorem/Postulate from Unit 1 (up to 1 point EC)
 Extra item of Creativity, such as an illustration, of your story (up to 1 point EC)