Second edition, with Tisdell’s Geometry Tool. Supplied with poster of drawing ideas in storage wallet

 The Mathomat V5 template, designer pack includes a Mathomat version 5 geometry template with a fold out poster of drawing ideas

The Mathomat V5 geometry template

The Mathomat V5 template is the same shape as Mathomat V2 but is 22% larger in area. It has all the same great selection of shapes, arranged in a user-friendly hierarchical pattern around its central protractor that you would expect in a Mathomat. The larger Mathomat V5 template includes many great new features, including:

A bigger, less complex protractor

At the centre of the new large-format Mathomat templates is a new protractor design, which is:

• Big— It's oversize at 120mm diameter
• Open — the larger size creates more space between degree lines. Students can understand the protractor's structure more easily.
• Simple — fewer degree scales - just the basics, labels are minimised, and protractor radius guides have a cleaner layout
• Conventional — in the case of protractors, we think teachers and students need to find information exactly where they expect to see it. Therefore, our new protractors follow a conventional layout.

The 180-degree protractor in Mathomat V5 is complemented by circle 38, that is graduated in degrees and by a new circle centre finding tool

Tisdell’s geometry tool

Professor Tisdell’s new geometry tool (TGT) is now part of the Mathomat V5 template. This new feature in Mathomat can create all the geometric constructions in the school curricula by using a single radius with a defined centre for rapid and accurate placement. This accurate, safe, and efficient way to draw geometric constructions is demonstrated in Chris’s geometric construction video series, and in the paper Beyond the Compass by Chris and David Bee Olmedo. The TGT is also a hands-on way of constructing geometry, consistent with our design philosophy of fostering learners as builders and inventors. The physical nature of the TGT keeps students in contact with geometry in a physical sense while encouraging abstract thinking in terms of the points, lines, and arcs inherent in the tool and its use.

The TGT is positioned close to the straight edge on the left side of the Mathomat template for maximum coordination between both while drawing. As pointed out in David and Chris’s paper, the integration of the straight edge and the TGT in Mathomat reduces the complexity and time involved in creating geometric constructions in comparison with the use of a compass and straight edge.

Larger shapes to draw with

In the Mathomat V5 template the side length of the larger group of polygons has been increased to 20mm (from 15mm in the Mathomat V2 template). This allows for drawing useful sized nets to construct polyhedra and other 3-D shapes and for the drawing of larger 2-D patterns such as tessellation designs. It is easier for students to see the geometric structure of these larger shapes. 

A useful feature of the Mathomat V3 template is that its larger regular polygons now include a full set of pattern block shapes, which can be used in 2-D drawings to explore the many geometric designs that both primary and secondary schools have developed for these widely used concrete materials.

New geometry tools in Mathomat V5

The new Mathomat V5 includes three new tools that expand its creative potential:

• The tangram tool. Can be used to construct the three different sized triangles needed to complete the ancient Chinese tangram puzzle. These are complemented by other matching tangram shapes in the Mathomat V3.
• The regular polygon expansion scale. Will construct extra-large (50mm sided) regular polygons from similar shapes in Mathomat.
• The arc builder scale. Will create extra-large arcs and circles.

The usual great range of Mathomat shapes and scales

The Mathomat V5 template has all the great range of shape stencils such as useful graduated circles, ellipses, regular polygons, quadrilaterals, and graphing curves that you would expect. Mathomat V5 also has the same rich collection of number lines as before, such as a linear radian scale, millimetre, and centimetre scale and 1:20,000 street directory scale.as well as isometric and parallel lines for technical drawing.