Note: To use the Java version you will need to first download and install the Microworlds Player.
Click here to find out how to do that.
| Activity: Billiard Paths |
Student
Page
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| Below is an unusual billiard table. The dimensions are determined by the numbers on the sliders. When you click on SHOOT a blue ball will start to roll at a 45 degree heading and bounce off the opposite sides until it ends up in a corner. The computer will then tell you how many bounces (touches) the ball made and in what corner it wound up in. |
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Microworlds Java
version
Note: To use the Java version you will need to first download and install the Microworlds Player. Click here to find out how to do that. |
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Your Challenge: See if you can come up with a way to predict (1) what the number of touches will be for any given size billiard table and (2) which corner the ball will end up in. |
An example (5x7 table) is done
for you. Try the others and see what you get.
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Try other number combinations.
See what conjectures or conclusions
you come with.
(Use the data
sheets to help you collect more data.)