DEKART GAME is an online game for consolidating first knowledge and skills on the Cartesian plane and analytic geometry. It covers the coordinates of a point, segments between two points, squares and their area.
On the start page you set up the game, choosing the modes you want to play and the time available. Each right answer scores one point; a wrong answer ends the game. The goal is to score as many points as possible.
In POINT mode you are given the coordinates and have to find the matching point on the Cartesian plane. The coordinates are written in the usual form (x, y), where x is the horizontal distance from the origin (the point at the bottom left) and y the vertical distance.
In SEGMENT mode you have to draw a segment with given endpoints. To draw a segment, click one of the two endpoints and drag to the other.
The segment is written in an unusual but intuitive notation: its two endpoints with a bar over them. For example, the segment (7, 4)(15, 5) shown in the picture is the segment with endpoints (7, 4) and (15, 5).
In SQUARE mode you have to draw a square with a given side. Sometimes there are two correct answers, symmetrical with respect to the starting segment.
Since the segments are usually slanted, the answer is not immediate. If you draw a wrong segment, click the UNDO button to go back.
In AREA mode you have to work out the area of the square shown on the Cartesian plane, choosing among 5 possible answers. There are three strategies, depending on the square that appears.
1. If the square has a horizontal base, work out the length of the base and multiply it by itself: in the example in the picture the base is 4 long, so the area is 16.
2. If the square is not too big, you can use Pick's formula. Count the dots inside the square, then count the dots on its border and divide that number by 2. Add the two numbers and subtract 1. In the example in the picture there are 5 dots inside the square and 8 on the border, so the area is 5 + 8/2 – 1 = 5 + 4 – 1 = 8.
3. Another strategy is Pythagoras' theorem: adding the squares of the lengths of the two legs (in orange in the picture) gives the area.
In the example in the picture, 12 + 52 = 26.
Dekart Game at school
DEKART GAME is a software that lends itself well to accompany activities in the educational field.
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