Math Concept Reader MCR g3 surprising solids

Math Concept Reader
Surprising
Solids
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Surprising
Solids
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ISBN 13: 978-0-15-360182-8
ISBN 10: 0-15-360182-5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 179 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07
by Linda Bussell
Surprising
Solids
Math Concept Reader
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The students at King School return from school break.

They gather near the library before Computer Club and
talk about what they did on the break.
Emily says, “I visited my grandmother in Paris, France.”
She shares a postcard of the city where her grandmother
lives. “There is a building shaped like a pyramid in the
city,” says Emily. “It is outside a big art museum.”
Other students look at the picture. Tamara says she
has seen a picture of a building shaped like a sphere, and
Terrell has seen a building that looks like a cube.

Chapter 1:
Pyramids and Plans
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Terrell has an idea. “We can make a Web site for our
computer club project,” he says. “It can be about buildings
that are shaped like geometric solids. One of the buildings
can be the one shaped like a pyramid from Emily’s postcard.”
The students agree and think that it will be a fun project.
“First we must find pictures of buildings,” says Antonio.
“Then we can build our Web site.”
“Let’s ask the librarian and the computer teacher for help,”
says Emily.
The children enter the school library and the computer lab.

Chapter 1:
Pyramids and Plans
The class decides to make a Web site about buildings shaped like
geometric solids.
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They visit the librarian, Mr. Bowen, and explain their
idea for the project.
“This will be an interesting project,” says Mr. Bowen.
“I will help you find books that meet your needs. Our
library has many books about buildings.”
They visit the computer teacher, Ms. Washington.
“I will help you design your Web site,” says Ms.
Washington. “I will help you with Internet research, too.”
The students want to use photos on their Web site,
and Ms. Washington reminds them to give credit to the
photographer when they use pictures that are not theirs.

Chapter 2:
Cubes, Spheres, and
Curious Solids
These students are doing research to find different buildings with
shapes like geometric solids.
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With the help of Mr. Bowen and Ms. Washington, the
students find lots of information and talk about how to
make the Web site.
“We should work in pairs,” says Antonio. It will make
the project go faster.”
“That is a good idea,” says Tamara. “Each pair should
find a picture and information, and then share the
information with the group.”
“Each pair can learn about a different solid,” says
Robert. “That way we can make sure to include many

types of solids. Then we will build our Web site.”

Chapter 2:
Cubes, Spheres, and
Curious Solids
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Ana and Terrell work together to find a picture and
information about a solid figure. They talk about rectangular
prisms.
“Rectangular prisms are solid figures,” Ana says. “They
have six faces that are all rectangles.”
Terrell looks at a Web site on the computer. “Many office
buildings are shaped like rectangular prisms,” he says.
Ms. Washington helps Ana and Terrell search for pictures
of buildings. They find pictures of many office buildings,
most of which are shaped like rectangular prisms. One
building shaped like a rectangular prism is the United
Nations building in New York City.

This is the United Nations building in New York, New York.
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Antonio and Nicole look for pictures of buildings
shaped like cubes.
“Cubes are a special kind of rectangular prism,” says
Antonio. “Cubes have six square faces.”
Nicole says, “All the square faces of a cube are exactly
the same.”
Ms. Washington helps Antonio and Nicole search

the Internet. They search for “cube buildings” and find
a building in California that looks like a cube. It is the
Discovery Science Center building.
“The cube is ten stories tall,” Antonio says. “One face
of the cube is covered with 464 solar panels that turn
sunlight into energy.”

This is the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana, California.
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Emily and Jessica study pyramids. “A square pyramid
has a base that is a square,” Emily says. “Its four triangle-
shaped faces all meet at one common point. The base is a
face, too.”
“Can we find a picture of the Great Pyramids?” asks
Jessica. “They are in Egypt.”
Mr. Bowen helps them find a picture of the Great
Pyramids in a book about Egypt. “The Pyramids are very
old,” says Jessica. “They were built more than 4,500 years
ago, and many scientists believe it took over 20 years to
build one of the Great Pyramids.”

These are the Great Pyramids in Giza, Egypt.
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Some solids do not have flat faces, but instead have
curved surfaces. Anthony and Robert learn about spheres.
“Spheres are solids that are round,” says Anthony. “A
sphere is shaped like a ball.”
“Every point on the curved surface of a sphere is the

same distance from the center,” Robert says.
Mr. Bowen points out that buildings usually are not true
spheres because a sphere would only touch the ground at
one point. Anthony finds a picture of a structure that looks
like a sphere. Robert reads about the building. It is the
Spaceship Earth building in Orlando, Florida.

This is a sphere-shaped building in Orlando, Florida.
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Erin and Kai learn about cylinders. “Cylinders are solids
that look like cans,” says Kai. “Two faces on a cylinder are
shaped like circles.”
Ms. Washington helps them find pictures of buildings
that look like cylinders. “Some water towers are shaped
like cylinders,” says Erin. “Water towers are used to
provide water pressure.”
Erin and Kai also look for buildings shaped like cones,
but they do not find any. Ms. Washington suggests they
look for buildings that have parts shaped like cones. She
offers to help them with their search.
10
These cylinder-shaped buildings are in Los Angeles, California.
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A cone is a solid, pointed figure. It has a flat, round
base and one curved surface. Ms. Washington finds a
picture of a castle. The castle has a tower, known as a
turret, with a cone-shaped roof. Erin and Kai plan to make
a Web page for buildings that have cone shapes.

“Some buildings are made of different solid shapes put
together,” says Ms. Washington.
“Let’s find buildings that have more than one shape,”
says Erin.
“We can make a Web page of buildings with combined
shapes,” says Kai.
11
The castle’s towers have cone-shaped tops.
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The students finish their research about solid figures,
and Ms. Washington helps them build their Web pages.
Then, the students help Erin and Kai. They find many
buildings made of more than one solid figure.
They add more Web pages to display the pictures they
find. These are the most interesting pages of all. Finally,
the students finish their project. They complete their Web
site about buildings shaped like solid figures.
They are pleased because the Web site has turned
out very well. The students plan to show it during Open
House. All of their parents will see it.
1
Chapter 3:
Open House
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On the night of the Open House, parents, teachers,
and students visit the library. They come to see the Web
site that the students in the computer club created. They
have heard many good things about it. People gather

around to see the final project.
The students talk about their Web site. Each visitor
has a favorite Web page, but everyone likes the pictures
of complex solids. Those Web pages show buildings that
combine two or more solid figures, such as the Winnie
Palmer Hospital in Orlando, Florida.
1
The Winnie Palmer Hospital in Orlando, Florida, has buildings
with several solid figures.
Chapter 3:
Open House
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One Web page shows an office building in Vienna, Austria.
It is made of different solid figures. The students point out
some of the solid figures for their visitors. “Look at this
building,” says Terrell. “Here is a rectangular prism.”
“This building looks like it has many rectangular prisms,”
says Nicole. “I wish I could walk around it and see the other
sides. This part is shaped like a cube.”
Soon, visitors take turns trying to name the solids they find.
1
Part of this office building in Vienna, Austria, is cube-shaped.
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The students share another Web page. The top of one
building in Amsterdam is made of a row of cubes, and each
cube has a vertex pointing toward the sky.
“I wonder what it would be like to walk around inside this
building,” says Kai. “How would they hang pictures on the

wall?”
“The computer club has done an excellent job,” says Mr.
Bowen.
“You have learned many things about solids,” says Ms.
Washington.
The visitors congratulate the students. The club members
smile. The students had fun, and the visitors did, too.
1
These cube-shaped apartments are in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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Photo credits: cover (main images, center inset), p. 10 © Corbis; cover (left inset), p. 7
Discovery Science Center; cover (right inset), p. 9 © Richard T. Nowitz/Corbis; p. 3 © Tony
Freeman/Photo Edit; p. 4 © Mary Kate Denny/Photo Edit; p. 6 © David Pollack/Corbis; p.
8 © Kazuyoshi Nomachi/Corbis; p. 11 © Patrick Ward/Corbis; p. 13 Jonathan Bailey As-
sociates; p. 14 F. Staud/www.phototravels.net; Frans Lemmens/Iconica/Getty Images.
1
Glossary
cone a solid, pointed figure that has a flat,
round base
cube a solid figure with six congruent square
faces
cylinder a solid or hollow object that is shaped
like a can
pyramid a solid figure with a flat, square base
and four triangular-shaped faces that meet at
one common point
rectangular prism a solid figure with six faces
that are all rectangles
sphere a solid figure that has the shape of a

round ball
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Think and Respond
1. How are a sphere and a cylinder alike? How
are they different?
2. Draw a solid figure with a base that is a
square and four faces that are triangles with
a common point. What did you draw?
3. Name and describe at least three solid
figures from the picture on page 13.
4. What shape building would you most like to
live in? Why?
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