Octants and Isometric Graphing!

by Elijah Eastman and Itancan Christenson

Today math was really interesting. We did 3-d graphing and used isometric graph paper. Last week, we learned that a Cartesian Plane has four quadrants. (Quad means 4 in Latin). Today, we learned that there are eight "octants" when you have a three dimensional graph. ("Oct" means "8" in Latin.) Use the Roman numerals for your quadrants and octants.





We also learned about the "right hand rule" which tells us the three axes: the horizontal axis, the vertical axis and the axis that tells how close to you the point is. They are labeled the "x-axis," the "y-axis" and the "z-axis."


After we watched a video about this, we tried 3-d graphing on our own. We used isometric graph paper and also an online drawing program to do it. Here is the link so you can try.

We tried to make graphs using cubes and three axes. If you click "inspect" you can see the 3 dimensions and you can move it around. Moving a shape around on an axis is called "rotation."

Itancan created a three dimensional shape that looked like a plane from on top. It could rotate so you could see the edge. 


Elijah tried to make an impossible 3-d shape. But it was impossible! Instead, he made a really cool shape of his own. When you looked at it, it looked like a solid figure. But if you rotateded it, you could see all the parts. 

Your mind "tricks" you because it sees a solid then when you rotate, you can see the trick clearly. It was very clever.

Even though 3 d graphing is hard, we really enjoyed it. We agreed that this was a successful and fun lesson.

We even tried to make a movie to show you Elijah's 3 d shape. Click HERE to see if it works!