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Dimensions - Exploring Flatland

hint section


Question:

What would a fence look like in Flatland? What about a picket fence? (The picket fence should keep out Flatlanders but allow them to see the flowers inside.)

Hint:

If you have an idea of how to make a 2-D bag, then think about how a fence is like a bag. Should your fence be closed or open? Decide and explain your decision.

If you don't know how to make a bag, then try to trap paper cut-outs on a table. Remember that in Flatland, your cut-outs would not fall off the table--they would always stay in the plane.

To make a picket fence or bag you can see through, think about what sort of 3-D objects you can see through. A mesh bag, for example, has cloth "missing" from the bag. How is it held together? With pieces of string connected to one another. A picket fence in Flatland would really be made out of lots of individual pickets. These pickets--unlike most fences you've probably seen--wouldn't need to be connected to one another.


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