Systems of Computer Algebra and Dynamic Geometry as Tools of Mathematical

Investigation
By Roman Hašek
University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Faculty of Education, Jeronýmova 10, 371 15, České Budějovice, Czech
Republic
hasek@pf.jcu.cz

Received: March 2013 Revised: July 2013

Computer algebra systems together with dynamic geometry only a result. Computer use enables a mathematics teacher
systems provide a user with a means of investigation of the to carry out the process of the exploration of given
mathematical background of various real world phenomena. phenomena and also the formulation of a hypothesis with his
The combination of symbolic capabilities with simply-made or her students. Let us illustrate this understanding of the
dynamic models gives us a means of introducing students to, concept “tools of mathematical investigation” with the
what are in fact, complex problems. We will present selected following example dealing with the length of a graph of a
examples of the modelling of such problems based mainly on function between two points.
the joint use of the computer algebra system wxMaxima and
tools of the geometry and algebraic package GeoGebra. Example: Determine the length of the graph of the function
1 2
1 INTRODUCTION f ( x )  ( x  5 x  8) between its two points with x-
4
This paper deals with the use of computers as tools of coordinates 1 and 7, see Figure1.
mathematical investigation in mathematics teacher training
courses at the Faculty of Education where the author works.
We will present selected examples that we use with students
of pre-service and in-service mathematics teacher training
courses in order to give them insights into some
mathematical facts and phenomena as well as to promote
their understanding of computers as tools of investigation.
First we will provide the reader with a brief overview of
various examples of the utilisation of computer algebra
systems (CAS). Then we will focus particularly on the joint
use of the computer algebra system wxMaxima
(wxmaxima.sourceforge.net) together with the tools of
GeoGebra (www.geogebra.org) as a geometry and algebraic
software. In particular we will take advantage of GeoGebra's
graphic functions and its built-in spreadsheet, which has
proved an effective means for iterative numerical Figure 1 Determine the length of the marked arc
computation.
If a student already knows the proper formula (1)
2 MATHEMATICAL INVESTIGATION BY
2
l  a (1  ( f ' ( x )) dx ,
MEANS OF COMPUTER b
(1)

The concept of “mathematical investigation” is well he or she can use a computer only as a means of finding the
established as a method of teaching mathematics, based on solution to the problem, as illustrated by the following
the exploration by students of a mathematical situation. wxMaxima code:
Various publications, articles and lectures (for example,
Burghes, 1984; Wolfram, 2010; illuminations.nctm.org;
math4teaching.com) are devoted to this method as well as
various projects which are aimed at the improvement of
mathematics education, and give “mathematical
investigation” considerable attention (for example, Baptist,
Miller and Raab (2010) www.fibonacci-project.eu).

This paper aims particularly at the “use of computers

as tools of mathematical investigation”. This means, within
the scope of the paper, the use of computer programs in such
a way that reveal the mathematical essence of a problem or
phenomena compared to its mere computation which reveals

International Journal for Technology in Mathematics Education, Volume 20, No 3

[104 Roman Hašek
However, if a student does not know the formula and
wants to learn and understand it, which is no doubt desirable,
a different way of using a computer can play a crucial role.
It can be used as a tool for investigation into the given
problem. For example, in the case of the given problem of
the arc length we would first let students investigate a
possible way of finding a solution using the geometry tools
of GeoGebra. To estimate the arc length they naturally use
the tools Segment or PolyLine. As shown in Figure 2, the
program informs us of the length of the polyline. The
influence of the number of segments on the accuracy of our
estimate is obvious; the higher the number of segments, the
better the accuracy of the arc length approximation.
Figure 2 The arc length approximation in GeoGebra
This observation directs us to the application of the
infinitesimal calculus. Then, the effort to model appropriate
limit process in GeoGebra, which can be completed by the
creation of the interactive material as shown in Figure 3,
leads us to the essence of (1). The material in Figure 3
combines a diagram with text, both of which are dynamically
controlled by the slider. It visualises the role of Pythagoras'
theorem behind the formula (1) together with the idea of the
transition from the approximation of the arc length by the
sum of line segments to the integration as a “sum of
infinitesimally small elements” of the arc.
Figure 3 Visualisation of the arc length computation in
GeoGebra
© 2013 Research Information Ltd. All rights reserved.
3 INVESTIGATION BY MEANS OF CAS
Utilisation of the computer algebra systems (CAS)
and the dynamic geometry systems (DGS) in mathematics
teacher-training at the Faculty of Education of the University
of South Bohemia has two aims with a common intersection:
Technological support of the university mathematical courses
and the preparation of students for their practical future, i.e.
for the effective use of computers in mathematics teaching at
basic and secondary schools. Those two aims form the
structure of the software that we use at the faculty where we
combine both commercial and free software.
In regular higher-level mathematics courses we use
the computer algebra system Maple (www.maplesoft.com).
Other than this traditional courses we have made good use of
it in the financial education of future teachers at the faculty.
In particular we take advantage of the so called Maple “smart
documents” the utilisation of which in financial education,
for example, has been depicted in Hašek and Petrášková
(2010).
Parallel with the use of Maple we promote the use of
wxMaxima and Sage (www.sagemath.org). These open
source programs appear to be the most convenient substitutes
for Derive, especially when considering its use at basic and
secondary schools. WxMaxima, is mainly used because of
its Czech localisation together with the graphical user
interface enabling the control of the most frequently used
commands without the necessity of knowing their syntax and
lastly for the possibility of exporting its documents into the
html and tex file formats.
Figure 4 Interactive worksheet in Sage
 Systems of Computer Algebra and Dynamic Geometry as Tools of Mathematical Investigation 105]

In the case of Sage we have many benefits among leash. If the master's trajectory is identified with the y-axis
which are its excellent three dimensional graphs, interactive the dog's trajectory equation is given simply by the solution
elements such as sliders and check boxes and the possibility to the differential equation (Gander and Hrebicek, 2004)
of sharing a worksheet online on the Internet. The use of
2 2
Sage to support the freshman course of Linear algebra is l x
illustrated in Figure 4. The presented interactive online y'  - (2)
x
material allows students to conduct their own experiments on
the solvability of a system of three linear equations. They The solution to (2) by integration in wxMaxima, along with
can change the individual elements of the augmented matrix its adjustment to the initial condition T (l )  0 , is as follows:
and immediately follow the corresponding changes of
equations and their graphs.

4 THE JOINT USE OF CAS AND DGS

The joint use of spreadsheet, dynamic geometry and

symbolic algebra forms a strong tool for the investigation
and visualisation of various mathematical phenomena. With
these programs we can, for example, investigate the
exponential growth of a snail from a picture of its shell.
First, in GeoGebra we inspect the geometrical qualities of the
Then, in GeoGebra, we numerically compute a
spiral then we use the data to derive its equation by
sequence of the positions of the dog corresponding to an
wxMaxima (Hašek, 2012a).
arithmetical sequence of his masters’ positions. Changing
the difference of the sequence we change the accuracy of the
The GeoGebra spreadsheet is an effective tool to
numerical approximation. The smaller the differences the
perform an iterative numerical computation and to simulate
more accurate the approximation obtained. Confrontation of
various limit processes (Hašek, 2012b). For example, we can
the approximation of discrete positions of the dog with the
take advantage of its qualities to model the tractrix, solving
graph of the formula derived in wxMaxima is shown in
the classical problem of the trajectory of a dog that is
Figure 5.
dragged by its master on a leash of a constant length in the
direction perpendicular to the original direction of a tight

Figure 5 The tractrix model in GeoGebra

Another example of the joint use of DGS and CAS to
model a real-world phenomenon is the well known nephroid
that can be observed on the surface or at the bottom of a cup.
This so called caustic is a live example of an envelope of a
one-parametric family of lines - rays that are reflected on the
inner surface of the cup. A computer with CAS and DGS
installed enables us to analyse this phenomenon with our
students.
First we use the software GeoGebra to model the
behaviour of the incident and the reflected light rays, as
shown in Figure 6. The parallel incident rays go from the
right into the cup, fall on the inner surface of the cup and are
reflected back inside it. We can propose a hypothesis of the
birth of the heart-shaped curve which we can see in the
picture.

International Journal for Technology in Mathematics Education, Volume 20, No 3

[106 Roman Hašek
a) Reflection of a ray
Figure 6 The nephroid’s birth modelled in GeoGebra
To derive the parametric equations or the algebraic
equation of the curve we can use wxMaxima, as illustrated
by the following code or we can solve the problem
completely with GeoGebra, thanks to the implementation of
CAS in its latest version 4.2.
5 INVESTIGATION INTO A LIMIT PROCESS
Solving the latter example with students revealed that
most of them did not quite understand the background theory
of an envelope of a family of lines or curves. Specifically,
the fact that the parametric equations are the solution to the
system
L( x, y, t )  0 (3)
L( x , y , t )
 0, (4)
t
where (3) is the equation of a one-parametric family of
curves, or lines in a special case, with the parameter t and (4)
is its derivative with respect to t. Symbolic proof of this fact,
which is usually stated as a theorem, is not difficult and all
its steps clearly fit together (Audin, 2003). But to the
© 2013 Research Information Ltd. All rights reserved.
b) Nephroid as an envelope
students it appears artificial and they call for some visual aid
to reveal the heart of matter. To facilitate the insight into the
origins of the equations (3) and (4) we have had good
experience with GeoGebra. Its use evolved into the
development of original materials that enable a user to get a
deeper insight into the geometric grounds of the theory of
envelopes. Let us illustrate these assets with the example of
the astroid.
The astroid is the envelope of a line segment moving
with endpoints running on orthogonal lines, as demonstrated
in Figure 7. As an example we can imagine the movement of
a ladder sliding along a wall.
Figure 7 The astroid
Let L( x, y, t )  0 be the equation of the family of
lines corresponding to the moving segment (the ladder). For
the purpose of our investigation we will deal with such lines
L( x, y, ti )  0 from the family that correspond to the
arithmetical progression of parameters ti with the difference
t . We are interested in the relation between these lines
L( x, y, ti )  0 and the lines corresponding to the equations
Li L( x, y,ti ) L( x, y ,ti 1 )
 0 (5)
t t
 Systems of Computer Algebra and Dynamic Geometry as Tools of Mathematical Investigation 107]

Let l  R be the length of the segment, the movement

Li L
lim  0 (6) of which forms the astroid. Then the corresponding family
t 0 t t of lines has the equation
that play a crucial role in the definition of the derivative
featured in (4). To handle these equations we take advantage L( x, y, t )  x l 2  t 2  yt  t l 2  t 2  0 (7)
of the GeoGebra Spreadsheet, which allows us, as does any First, we assign l  1 and define the slider to control
spreadsheet, to organise a long series of numerical
the value of t . The slider is visible near the top of the
computations where the values of an independent variable
drawing pad in Figure 8. Then, we fill in the Spreadsheet of
form an arithmetic progression. GeoGebra, in addition,
GeoGebra according to Table 1 to plot the systems (7) and
enables a user to control the difference of the progression
(5) of lines corresponding to the successive values of t.
with the slider, for example, to scale it down. Moreover, it
provides him or her with sophisticated graphical tools to
Finally, we will copy the content of cells A3, B3 and
draw and analyse the corresponding diagrams more simply.
C3 from the third line into the next several lines, the number
Thanks to these properties, GeoGebra represents a suitable
of which is given by the number of segments we want to
means of showing the principle of the computation with
draw. Thanks to the relative addresses of the cells that are
infinitesimals. We can use it to visualise the behaviour of
used in the formulas (see Table 1) we will get successive
particular dependent values, changing the difference between
iterations of the lines equations (columns B and C). As the
independent values from small to very small.
cells are filled, lines are automatically drawn (Figure 8). In
practice, it is helpful to select them by colour, which cannot
be shown here.

A B C
1 " ti " " L( x, y, ti )" "( L( x, y, ti )  L( x, y, ti 1 )) / t "

(x*sqrt(l2  A32 )  y* A3  A3*sqrt(l2  A32 )-x*sqrt(l2  A32 )

2 0 x*sqrt(l2  A22 )  y* A2 A2*sqrt(l2  A22 )=0
-y* A2  A2*sqrt(l2  A22 ))/ t =0

(x*sqrt(l2  A42 )  y* A4  A4*sqrt(l2  A42 )-x*sqrt(l2  A32 )

3 A2+  x*sqrt(l2  A32 )  y* A3 A3*sqrt(l2  A32 )=0
-y* A3  A3*sqrt(l2  A32 ))/ t =0
4 … … …

Table 1 Iterative computation in the GeoGebra Spreadsheet

Figure 8 The asteroid investigation in GeoGebra

International Journal for Technology in Mathematics Education, Volume 20, No 3

[108 Roman Hašek
a) t  0.226
Figure 9 Systems of the consecutive lines with different t
Now, manipulating the slider, a student can better
understand the meaning of (4). In the resulting pictures, see
Figures 9a) and b), we can recognise the fact that the
equation L( x, y, ti )  L( x, y, ti 1 )  0 holds for the
intersection of two successive curves L( x, y, ti )  0 and
L( x, y, ti 1 )  0 . Then considering the definition (6) of the
derivative it is clear why the points of an envelope have to
satisfy the equation (4) together with (3). As t approaches
zero, the lines (5) become the normal lines of the envelope.
In Figure 9b) a typical property of the normals to the astroid
is noticeable; the envelope of normals to the astroid, the
evolute, is another astroid.
6 CONCLUSION
The aim of the paper was to present selected examples
of the use of computer algebra systems at mathematics
teacher-training courses. We wanted especially to point out
the benefits of the joint use of CAS and DGS programs. The
acquired combination of symbolic capabilities with simply-
made dynamic models gives us a means to investigate and
visualise with our students the theoretical background of
various real-life problems or mathematical qualities. The
presented problems belonged to the fields of calculus, linear
algebra and differential geometry.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author gratefully acknowledges the support of the Grant
Agency of the University of South Bohemia (089/2010/S,
017/2013/S) as well as the helpful suggestions and comments
of the anonymous referees on this paper.
REFERENCES
Audin, M. (2003) Geometry, Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Baptist. P, Miller, C. and Raab, D. (eds) (2010) Towards
New Teaching in Mathematics, University of Bayreuth:
SINUS and SINUS-Transfer.
© 2013 Research Information Ltd. All rights reserved.
b) t  0.02
Burghes, D. (1984) Mathematical Investigations. Teaching
Mathematics and its Applications, 3(2), 47-55.
Gander, W. and Hrebicek, J. (Eds.) (2004) Solving Problems
in Scientific Computing Using Maple and MATLAB (4th,
expanded and rev. ed.), Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Hašek, R. (2012a) Investigation of logarithmic spirals in
nature by means of dynamic geometry and computer algebra
systems, The Electronic Journal of Mathematics and
Technology (eJMT), 6(3), 216-230.
Available at https://php.radford.edu/~ejmt
Hašek, R. (2012b) Numerical analysis of a planar motion:
GeoGebra as a tool of investigation, North American
GeoGebra Journal, 1(1), 33 – 36.
Available at http://www.ggbmidwest.com
Hašek, R. and Petrášková, V. (2010) Issue of Financial
Capability, The International Journal for Technology in
Mathematics Education, 17(4), 183-190.
Wolfram, C. (2010) Stop teaching calculating, start teaching
math, The Computer-Based Math (web page).
Available at http://www.computerbasedmath.org
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
Roman Hašek, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Geometry
at the University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Education,
Czech Republic. His current research is focused on the use
of computers in mathematics education.
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permission.