Auburn School District No. 408
915 4th Street Northeast, Auburn, WA  98002

3/27/07

NEWS RELEASE
Auburn Mountainview High School Student Uses
Geometry to Solve Home Improvement Project

Connor Gates, a freshman at Auburn Mountainview High School, is obviously learning the math that he is being taught in Ms. O’Brien’s geometry class. He recently used his math skills to solve his father’s home do-it-yourself project.

Connor and his father, Dan Gates, were installing shelf liners in their kitchen cabinets. When they came to a set of corner shelves, which were oddly shaped, father and son looked at each other puzzled—as everything had been square up to this point.

Dan recalls thinking, Do we stuff an oversized piece in and trim it? Do we just cut a square piece and have gaps? Do we guess the size? Connor stepped in and began to measure the shelves and then scribbled out a formula on a piece of paper to find the square area. According to Dan, “Before I knew it, Connor had a perfect template ready for us to use. It fit perfectly! We’ve dubbed them the ‘Geometry Shelves.’”

It goes to show how math is part of everyday life—kitchen cabinets and all.

For more information contact Amy Spence, public information officer, at (253) 931-4713.