Dimes & Quarters - in {dimes, quarters} space
Dimes & Quarters are two applets that represent the same problem in two different ways.
Jane has 8 coins. Some are dimes and some are quarterss. Among them they have a total value of $1.55
How many dimes and how many quarters does Jane have?
[answer 5 quarters, 3 dimes - shown by the gold dot]
One graphical representation of the problem shows the problem in the {coins,$} plane and the other
graphical representation shows the problem in the {dimes,quarters} plane.
Study the two representations carefully -
How are the numbers of dimes and the number of quarters represented in the {coins,$} plane?
How are the number of coins and the value of the coins represented in the {dimes,quarters} plane?
How are the quantities $/dime and $/quarter represented in each of the two planes?
Which representation do you think provides you with more insight? Why?
What questions could / would you put to your students based on this applet ?