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Common Errors or Misconceptions in Geometry
Common Challenge or What It Looks Like How to Help
Misconception
Shape is incorrectly Students call the third Expose students to a
identified due to a focus on shape a diamond (not a variety of Examples of a
nondefining characteristics mathematical shape) given shape and ask them
such as orientation, size, or because it is tilted and no what the shapes have in
color. longer looks like a square. common.
And they may just say the Use examples and
last shape is pointy but is nonexamples of shapes to
not a triangle. focus on the defining
There are 5 shapes. 1, a attributes.
large square. 2, a small Carefully select posters,
square. 3, a square tilted children’s literature, and
on a corner. 4, an inverted examples to avoid using/
equilateral triangle. 4, a displaying inaccurate or
titled right scalene triangle imprecise examples of
shapes.
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Common Errors or Misconceptions in Geometry
1. Misidentify three-dimensional figures by focusing on the two-dimensional
face
2. Unsure of definitions that involve inclusion relations of quadrilaterals
3. When working with properties alone without a visual they think of the one
shape that pops into their mental imaging rather than the whole group of
shapes
4. Perpendicular lines must be horizontal and vertical
5. Parallel lines must be horizontal
6. Line of symmetry must be vertical or horizontal or they must be adjacent to
the side of the image
7. Unable to identify a shape in different orientation as congruent
8. Cannot visualize a three-dimensional shape from a two-dimensional image
9. Incorrectly describes shapes they cannot see or is unable to predict what a
shape looks likes
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REFERENCES
• @2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
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