What Do You Notice? Balance Scale

Skills

Primary students (K-2): shapes, logical thinking

Intermediate students (3-5): shapes, equality, logical thinking

Mathematical Background

The intent here was to see if students would recognize that one triangular pyramid was equal to the weight of the sphere and cube.

Sample Student Responses

"One side has 3 shapes with the other side has 2 shapes."

"3 pyramids; 1 sphere; 1 cube; and they are all 3-D."

"It's a scale. The left side has three shapes and the right side has two shapes."

"The square and the circle are the same weight as one triangle. s + c = t"