Google SketchUp
Math Project:
Grades 1 - 5

 

In this project, you will create some interesting patterns, starting with just a basic circle. The number six is used everywhere.

 

 

If you need some basic information on downloading Google SketchUp, or about its user interface and basic tools, please see our printable “Intro to SketchUp” PDF.

The PC version is at www.3dvinci.net/SketchUp_Intro_PC.pdf.
The Mac version is at www.3dvinci.net/SketchUp_Intro_Mac.pdf.

 

1. This project is all done in Top view (Camera / Standard Views / Top). You will automatically open SketchUp in top view if you choose one of the “plan view” templates at startup.

2. Draw a circle.

3. Make the second circle like this: with its center at a circumference point on the first circle, and ending at the center of the first circle.

4. Make the third circle like this: with its center at the intersection of the first two circles, and ending at the center of the first circle.

5. Keep making circles like that last one, until you have six circles surrounding the center one.

7. Click the Paint Bucket tool to open the Materials window (Colors on the Mac), and paint the faces in a pattern.

8. To start the next set of circles, make the first circle using these points.

9. Again, there are six circles that fill the pattern all the way around. And all of the circles are the same size. Color the faces.

10. One more set of circles! Start with this one:

11. And make the same circle all the way around (again, there are six).

12. Here's something neat about this pattern. If you use the Eraser tool to remove some of the inside edges, you can get this pattern: one circle with six identical circles around it. (You can try this with coins or cups, too.)

 

 

Here's another way circles are related to the number six.

1. In the same SketchUp file, or in a new one, draw a circle. Then draw a second circle like this:

2. Then make a third circle like this:

3. Click the Line tool, and draw this line, from the center of the third circle, to the point where it meets the second circle.

4. Make five more lines within the middle circle.

5. Erase all of the circle, and you're left with a perfect hexagon.

6. Hexagons can also be used to make great patterns. From one corner, draw three lines to the other corners.

7. Make similar lines from other corners.  

8. Color the faces inside the hexagon any way you like. Hexagons tessellate perfectly - we can make several rows of them with no gaps. (The Move tool is used to make copies, just press the Ctrl/Option key.) So you can start with just one circle, and get an entire mosaic!

In addition to using SketchUp to teach math, it’s also a great tool in art class!

If you like this project, please check out 3DVinci's GeomeTricks Series. The books shown below are appropriate for this age group, and teach concepts such as polygons, symmetry, and tesselation. Click each book graphic for more information.  

      

And if you want to receive three ready-to-use projects like these each month, sign up for our
SketchUp Projects of the Month subscription. Each month, you'll get one project related to geometry, and two projects that teach a 3D design concept.

Also, be sure to check out our free geometry projects at www.mathforum.org/sketchup!


All of the models in the Teacher Guide can be downloaded from Google’s 3D Warehouse: http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse.

 

 

 

If you’re reading this as a printout and can’t click on the links above, here’s how to find the Teacher Guide models:

 

1. Open the 3D Warehouse.

2. In the Search field, type “3dvinci teacher guide” and click Collections. Then press Enter or click the Search button.

3. Open this link:


 
 

4. In the collection, find the model you want, and open or download it.