Well, maybe not the most complicated diagram in the world. But this is definitely the most complicated diagram I’ve ever seen a student put on the board in order to solve a problem they created.
Most impressive was that the diagram was entirely relevant to the problem. And as a side note, she was able to solve it!
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PLEASE share the problem! You’re killing me here.
I believe this problem began its life as a configuration of gears, and the student ended up exploring some complicated geometry while trying to actually construct the appropriate diagram in Geometer’s Sketchpad. I think this diagram is where that attempted construction led her.
Is it related to the Apollonius Point?
Andy, I don’t believe that the student looked into the Apollonius point. in part because I’m not familiar with it myself. Thanks to your suggestion, I looked into it, and it definitely seems related.
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/ApolloniusPoint.html
I’ll be sure to pass the information along to her. Thanks!