Galactic Geometry 3D
Learn volume and surface area with this 3D space game!
Enjoy challenging action, vivid
animation and sound with three difficulty levels.
Understand how equations relate
to geometric forms, practice mental math and arithmetic. Get it now!
Galactic Geometry is a 3D educational game that offers an
exciting environment for serious learning about geometric figures.
As obstacles hurtle toward them, players calculate volume and
surface area. The software encourage true understanding of equations
and provides mental math practice. With five types of rocky debris
tumbling through space in vivid animation, lots of sound and
music, three difficulty settings, and relentless brain-racking
action (with time-freeze capabilities thrown in for the really
tough parts), Galactic Geometry brings math to your PC in style.
DOWNLOADS:
Windows 95 or later, DirectX 7
or later
 "The game is well done with a wide variation
in difficulty and even more importantly
it encourages alertness and mental acuity" -- User review,
WinSite
Blast your way out of an asteroid field
Galactic Geometry introduces 3D objects in an outer-space
arcade setting. After viewing instructions, players encounter
geometric figures in the form of large rocky obstacles looming
closer and closer. They must analyze the shapes and calculate
the volume or surface area to fire off the correct laser charge
before impact.
Each successful shot increases score and brings the player
closer to warping to the next level. When the player enters the
wrong answer and misses a shot, he or she can try again until
the obstacle gets too close. If an object hits the player's ship,
the protective shields drain a portion of the energy reserve--too
many collisions and the ship's energy runs out, ending the game.
But you'll need your thinking cap on
Galactic Geometry 3D was designed to be just as educational
and challenging as it is fun and engaging. Looking at the forms
from every angle, students relate the objects to their equations
for true understanding. In the starting level, rectangular prisms
(box-shaped objects) are shown divided into 1 x 1 x 1
cubes to aid comprehension and visual analysis.
Looking at the object and the additional information in the
ship's display (such as length, height, and width) the player
must use the relevant formula to find the correct answer and
type it in before a collision happens. This provides lots of
practice in arithmetic and encourages mental math. As players
progresses through the games levels, they learn and use the volume
and surface area equations for each type of object. The levels
are cumulative, including some objects from previous levels,
so the students must remember the equations and bring the proper
ones into play. One of the equations is presented and then practiced
on each level, and a Quick Reference file is also included for
additional study.
 
BUY
NOW!
District licensing also available.
Skills you need
Volume and surface area are crucial skills for students to
understand, and they are used in many careers and tasks. Geometry
represents a key area of math education, and proficiency in arithmetic
and mental math will propel people further in almost any job
or project. Students and adults who lack these skills will face
a disadvantage in some areas of life and work. Our societies,
too, need people with math skills so that our nations and industries
can overcome challenges and achieve goals.
Galactic Geometry offers practice and help with these skills
and concepts. Anyone, young or old, can use this game as an aid
in their efforts to learn and improve.
Enjoy the ride
A journey through space should be interesting. Besides bright
laser bursts and five types of three-dimensional objects drawn
with several textures against the stars, Galactic Geometry is
packed with sounds that accompany every action and epic music
to provide the audio background for this learning adventure.
Dynamic text and gauges fade in and out, drawing attention when
they are needed.
Alarms clang as rocks draw near and fill the screen with their
bulk, stars drift by and then seem to stretch into streaks of
light as the ship warps to a new level, keys bleep as laser charges
are entered, and rumbling collisions shake the view port when
obstacles slam into the shields, all against melodies that set
the mood for adventure, hope, and struggle--the typical feelings
for a challenging space mission. But there's only so much time
to enjoy the sights and sounds, because more of the dangerous
asteroids keep spinning into view.
KEY FEATURES:
EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS:
Math practice galore
Not only are players encouraged to learn and apply the equations
and to understand them in relation to the shapes they are working
with, but they are also immersed in an environment which encourages
mental arithmetic.
Galactic Geometry goes above and beyond the predictable products
and sums, asking for products of products, sums of products,
and products of sums. It's a chance for exceptional students
to progress further and put their abilities to practice, and
for struggling students to build confidence and ability in a
fun environment with continual drilling, instant feedback, and
graduated difficulty.
The game assumes knowledge of the basic arithmetic tables,
but it may be useful for students who need help in that area
if they use the easiest difficulty setting. The most successful
in mental math will probably be those who view math flexibly
rather than adhering to rigid procedures; for example, 39 x 5
might be calculated more easily as (40 x 5) - 5.
Calculators could be used now and then for the really difficult
moments, but the speed and graphic nature of the game naturally
encourage doing the math mentally whenever possible; fumbling
with a calculator takes time, and performing calculations in
the head will be rewarding in short-time self-esteem and long-term
mathematical ability. Another option is to have a bit of scratch
paper handy for the more difficult problems in higher levels.
It's also possible for two students to play as a team, with one
entering the answers.
The time freeze capability will provide a few extra seconds
for calculations in a pinch.
Galactic Geometry includes practice with a variety of objects
including rectangular prisms, irregular prisms, triangular prisms,
cylinders, and cones.
A wrong answer means a bit of the ship's energy is wasted
to fire the laser beam, but the player gets to try again until
the rock gets too close to the ship.
WHAT'S NEW IN 1.6:
DOWNLOADS:
Windows 95 or later, DirectX 7
or later
BUY
NOW!
District licensing also available.
Developer's note
I had two major goals in mind when developing Galactic Geometry.
First, I wanted to make a 3D educational game where the 3D aspect
was actually related to the content and contributing to understanding
of the concepts, rather than using 3D graphics only to make unrelated
content more entertaining. Finding volume and surface area of
obstacles is directly related, and presenting the objects in
three dimensions helps convey the concepts, especially when the
figures are divided into cubic units.
Second was my concern that many students need more practice
and drilling in arithmetic and mental math. I wanted to provide
a fun yet challenging environment for improving basic skills,
aiming to go a little beyond the norm for ed games and hopefully
make a difference for the better. Math skills are important,
and no society can afford to fall behind.
I hope that you find Galactic Geometry 3D useful for learning
and enjoyable for playing.
--Curry Kenworthy
Older downloads
Version
1.0
(This is an older version of the software. See the main download
link above to get the current version.)
Volume and surface area equations
Rectangular prism (Box)
- Box volume = Length x Width x Height
- Box surface area = sum of areas of six sides
= 2 (Length x Width) + 2 (Width x Height) + 2 (Length x Height)
= 2 (L W + W H + L H)
Irregular prism (Any prism)
- Prism volume = Area of one end x Length
- Prism surface area = Area of sides
= (perimeter of end (plus any inner hole perimeters) x length)
+ 2 (area of end)
Triangular prism
- Triangular prism volume = Triangle area x Length
= 1/2 L W H
= half the volume of a similar box
- Tri. prism SA = rect. base + 2 (tri. ends) + 2 (equal rect.
sides)
= L W + 2 (1/2 W H) + 2 (L SH)
= L W + W H + 2 L SH
or alternatively, L (W + 2 SH) + WH
Cylinder
- Cylinder volume = base area x height
= Pi (R squared) H
- Cylinder surface area = 2 (circular ends) + circumference
x height
= 2 (Pi R squared) + (2 Pi R) H
= 2 Pi R (R + H)
Cone
- Cone volume = 1/3 Pi (R squared) H
- Cone surface area = base area + average of circumference
along slant height
= Pi (R squared) + 1/2 (2 Pi R SH)
= Pi R (R+SH)
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