Math Drawing Directions Worksheet for 14-Year-Olds — Follow Written Instructions & Build Spatial Skills

Instructions

Follow the directions below to draw a mystery picture. You will need to plot points on the coordinate plane provided. Plot each point and connect it to the previous point in that section with a straight line. When you see "LIFT PENCIL," stop drawing a line and move your pencil to the starting point of the next section.

Part 1: The Main Body

1. Start at point (-2, -8)
2. Draw a line to (2, -8)
3. Draw a line to (2, 4)
4. Draw a line to (-2, 4)
5. Draw a line back to (-2, -8)
6. LIFT PENCIL.

Part 2: The Nose Cone

1. Start at point (-2, 4)
2. Draw a line to (0, 8)
3. Draw a line to (2, 4)
4. LIFT PENCIL.

Part 3: The Right Fin

1. Start at point (2, -7)
2. Draw a line to (5, -10)
3. Draw a line to (2, -9)
4. LIFT PENCIL.

Part 4: The Left Fin

The left fin is a reflection of the right fin across the y-axis. The vertices of the right fin are (2, -7), (5, -10), and (2, -9). Find the coordinates of the reflected vertices and connect them in order.

1. Start at the reflection of (2, -7)
2. Draw a line to the reflection of (5, -10)
3. Draw a line to the reflection of (2, -9)
4. LIFT PENCIL.

Part 5: The Window

Connect the following points in order to make a window.

1. Start at point (0, 2)
2. Draw a line to (1, 1)
3. Draw a line to (0, 0)
4. Draw a line to (-1, 1)
5. Draw a line back to (0, 2)
6. LIFT PENCIL.

Part 6: The Flames

1. Start at point (-1.5, -8)
2. Draw a line to (-2.5, -11)
3. Draw a line to (-1, -9)
4. Draw a line to (0, -12)
5. Draw a line to (1, -9)
6. Draw a line to (2.5, -11)
7. Draw a line to (1.5, -8)
8. LIFT PENCIL.

Coordinate Plane

The bold horizontal line is the x-axis, and the bold vertical line is the y-axis. The point where they cross is the origin (0,0). Each grid line represents one unit.

Challenge Questions

1. The main body of the rocket (Part 1) is a rectangle. What is its perimeter?
2. What is the area of the main body of the rocket?
3. The nose cone (Part 2) is what type of triangle (classified by its side lengths)?
4. What single transformation maps the right fin (Part 3) onto the left fin (Part 4)?
5. What is the coordinate of the lowest point of the entire drawing?

Answer Key

Completed Drawing

The completed drawing should be a rocket ship pointing upwards.

Challenge Question Answers

1. Perimeter: 32 units.

   The width is from x=-2 to x=2, which is 4 units. The height is from y=-8 to y=4, which is 12 units. The perimeter is 2 * (width + height) = 2 * (4 + 12) = 2 * 16 = 32 units.

2. Area: 48 square units.

   Area = width * height = 4 * 12 = 48 square units.

3. Isosceles triangle.

   The two sides connecting the body to the top point (0,8) are equal in length.

4. A reflection across the y-axis.

   Reflecting a point (x,y) across the y-axis results in the point (-x,y). For example, the vertex (5, -10) on the right fin is reflected to (-5, -10) on the left fin.

5. (0, -12)

   This is the lowest point of the flames coming from the bottom of the rocket.