Curriculum Level: 9-12
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the atlatl, an instrument or spear-thrower used by American Indians in North Carolina to aid in hunting, and to examine this instrument from a mathematical perspective. In doing so, students will use prior knowledge of circles to understand the concept of arc length as well as construct the calculation necessary to determine arc length. This will lesson also lead to an understanding of radian measures, what they represent, and how these are connected to degree measurements.