Benchmark Reflection

This project relates to the real world because many contractors and builders can use triangle similarity methods to find the information they need about buildings and objects.  Using the mirror or stick method is probably easier than trying to measure the whole height of a building with a measuring tool.  Workers like this can also find various dimensions of different parts of a building, such as the windows and doors.  Another way this project relates to the real world is that we came up with real suggestions for the neighborhood association, and also submitted information to Google Maps, which tons of people look at every day.
The most exciting portion of this project was going outside to measure our buildings.  One thing that made it a little fun was getting to leave school.  Another thing that made it interesting was that we were interacting with the neighborhood around our school in a way that we probably won’t ever again.  Through measuring our buildings, we found out how easy it is to find out information about almost any building you want.  The least exciting portion of this project was probably having to draw our block and explain one of the methods.  This was less exciting because we had already found all our information, but putting it down in a drawing could be very tedious and difficult.  Explaining the method wasn’t exciting because we had been talking about the methods for a while already. 
From completing this project, I learned a few things.  First, I learned that triangle similarity can be used in many contexts, for many reasons.  Second, I learned about how to use Google Maps in a new way, that benefits others.  Third, I learned how easy it is to find the heights of buildings, using a couple of pretty simple methods.  I also got to think about new ways to change the neighborhood, and through my research I learned that there’s a lot more to wood fencing than you think!  Overall, I think the project was a good learning experience, both about interacting with your neighborhood and about interacting with the outside world in new ways.