Make math come alive - use an online spreadsheet

Example from developmental math

A rectangular racquetball court has a perimeter of 120 feet. Its length is twice that of its width. Find the length and width of the court.

1. Experiment with various values of the width on the spreadsheet.
2. Note how the length changes.  Is that consistent with the wording of the problem.
3. Note how the perimeter changes. Is that consistent with the definition of perimeter of a rectangle?
4. Examine how the formulas are entered by double-clicking into the cells for length and perimeter.