Connect the Dots Puzzle

Today I want to share a connect the dots puzzle with you courtesy of Erich Friedman in Puzzle Box, Volume 2. If you love puzzles like this, you should definitely check out Erich’s Puzzle Palace which is chock-full of amazing puzzles.

All three of the books in this series have been a lovely addition to my classroom. I highly recommend them!

This puzzle is absolutely perfect for placing in a dry erase pocket. Want dry erase pockets for your classroom but don’t want to pay a premium? Here’s a little shopping tip for you. Search for “shop ticket holders” instead of “dry erase pockets.” They are the exact same thing, but since they are marketed towards car repair shops to keep their invoices clean, they are often SO MUCH CHEAPER.

If you don’t have a classroom set of dry erase pockets, you could also use heavy duty sheet protectors. But, I highly recommend investing in a classroom set of the pockets since they are so much more durable.

Students are given a square full of dots and the following instructions. Connect the dots below into a collection of triangles. The triangles should not touch or overlap, and each triangle should have three different edge lengths.

Grab your dry erase marker so we can give this a try. Our first triangle. Check. Remember to make sure that the three side lengths are all different. Check.

And, we can conveniently use the three dots to the right to make our second triangle.

h no! It’s an isosceles triangle which means two of the side lengths are the same. It looks like we are going to have to start all over.

And start over, I did. Things were going well until I realized I had a leftover dot in the bottom left corner.

I guess it’s up to you to try and solve the connect the dots puzzle!

Digital Version of Connect the Dots Puzzle

Matt Snyder has created a digital version of this puzzle for us using Desmos Activity Builder!