Fraction Addition Visualization: Interactive Graphical Demo

Fraction Addition Visualization: Interactive Graphical Demo
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2018-05-04 19:09
This GeoGebra example demonstrates fraction addition through an interactive graphical representation, making abstract arithmetic operations tangible. The core mathematical concept is adding fractions, including handling like and unlike denominators, and simplifying the result. Construction highlights include using Point, Segment, Polygon, and Sequence commands to draw rectangular area models, FractionText to display fractions, Textfield and Slider for user input, and If for conditional updates. Additional elements like Incircle or Inscribed Circle provide visual aids. Suitable for upper elementary to middle school students learning fraction operations, and useful for classroom demonstrations or self-paced exploration.

GeoGebra Commands & Parameters

  1. Point(yAxis) → C
  2. Point(Segment[C + (0, h), C + (0, (1.85 * h))]) → B
  3. If(t ≤ 0.5, 0, (2 * (t - 0.5))) → t2
  4. If(t ≤ 0.5, (2 * t), 1) → t1
  5. Point(Segment[B + (0, h), B + (0, (1.85 * h))]) → A
  6. Ray((0, 1.9), (0, 2.9)) → f
  7. Polygon({A, A + (l, 0), A + (l, h), A + (0, h)}) → poly1
  8. Polygon({B, B + (l, 0), B + (l, h), B + (0, h)}) → poly2
  9. Sequence(Segment[A + ((i * l / a1), 0), A + ((i * l / a1), h)], i, 1, a1 - 1) → list1
  10. Sequence(Segment[B + ((i * l / a2), 0), B + ((i * l / a2), h)], i, 1, a2 - 1) → list2
  11. Polygon({A, A + ((b1 * l / a1), 0), A + ((b1 * l / a1), h), A + (0, h)}) → poly3
  12. Polygon({B, B + ((b2 * l / a2), 0), B + ((b2 * l / a2), h), B + (0, h)}) → poly4
  13. Sequence(Sequence[Segment[A + ((i * l / a1) + (j * l / ((a1 * c1))), 0), A + ((i * l / a1) + (j * l / ((a1 * c1))), h)], j, 1, c1 - 1], i, 0, a1 - 1) → list3
  14. Sequence(Sequence[Segment[B + ((i * l / a2) + (j * l / ((a2 * c2))), 0), B + ((i * l / a2) + (j * l / ((a2 * c2))), h)], j, 1, c2 - 1], i, 0, a2 - 1) → list4
  15. If(a1 ≟ a2, true, false) → equald
  16. If(equald ∧ ((Div[b1 + b2, a1] > 0) ∨ (GCD[b1 + b2, a1] > 1)), true, If[(Div[(b1 * c1) + (b2 * c2), (a1 * c1)] > 0) ∨ (GCD[(b1 * c1) + (b2 * c2), (a1 * c1)] > 1), true, false]) → simplify
  17. Textfield(a1) → InputBox1
  18. Textfield(b1) → InputBox2
  19. Textfield(a2) → InputBox3
  20. Textfield(b2) → InputBox4
  21. Polygon({A', A' + (l, 0), A' + (l, h), A' + (0, h)}) → poly5
  22. Polygon({B', B' + ((b2 / a2 * l), 0), B' + ((b2 / a2 * l), h), B' + (0, h)}) → poly6
  23. Polygon({A', A' + ((b1 * l / a1), 0), A' + ((b1 * l / a1), h), A' + (0, h)}) → poly7
  24. Polygon({B', B' + ((b2 * l / a2), 0), B' + ((b2 * l / a2), h), B' + (0, h)}) → poly8
  25. Sequence(Sequence[Segment[A' + ((i * l / a1) + (j * l / ((a1 * c1))), 0), A' + ((i * l / a1) + (j * l / ((a1 * c1))), h)], j, 1, c1 - 1], i, 0, b1 - 1) → list8
  26. Sequence(Sequence[Segment[B' + ((i * l / a2) + (j * l / ((a2 * c2))), 0), B' + ((i * l / a2) + (j * l / ((a2 * c2))), h)], j, 1, c2 - 1], i, 0, b2 - 1) → list9
  27. Segment(C - (0, 0.5), C - (0, 1)) → g
  28. Segment(C + ((b1 / a1 * l), -0.5), C + ((b1 / a1 * l), -1)) → i
  29. Segment(C + ((b1 / a1 * l) + (b2 / a2 * l), -0.5), C + ((b1 / a1 * l) + (b2 / a2 * l), -1)) → j
  30. Vector(Midpoint[g], Midpoint[i]) → u
  31. Vector(Midpoint[i], Midpoint[g]) → v
  32. Vector(Midpoint[i], Midpoint[j]) → w
  33. Vector(Midpoint[j], Midpoint[i]) → a
  34. Sequence(Segment[A' + ((i * l / a1), 0), A' + ((i * l / a1), h)], i, 0, b1) → list6
  35. Sequence(Segment[B' + ((i * l / a2), 0), B' + ((i * l / a2), h)], i, 0, b2) → list7
  36. Sequence(Polygon[{C + ((i * l), 0), C + ((i * l) + l, 0), C + ((i * l) + l, h), C + ((i * l), h)}], i, 1, floor(b1 / a1 + b2 / a2)) → list5
  37. Segment(B', B' + ((b2 / a2 * l), 0)) → k
  38. Segment(B' + ((b2 / a2 * l), h), B' + (0, h)) → m
  39. If(b1 / a1 + b2 / a2 ≥ 1, true, false) → improper
  40. FractionText(b1 / a1 + b2 / a2) → text19
  41. FractionText(b1 / a1 + b2 / a2 - 1) → text20
  42. Sequence(Sequence[Segment[C + ((i * l / ((a1 * c1))) + (j * l), 0), C + ((i * l / ((a1 * c1))) + (j * l), h)], i, 1, (a1 * c1) - 1], j, 0, If[b1 / a1 + b2 / a2 ≤ 1, 0, 1]) → list10