Is Math Project really an experiment

[Gaby S.]

Hello. My name is Gaby and I was just curious. I am a student in the 8th grade and for a challenging project I have decided to do the Spidrons project in the pure mathematics section. I was just wondering if you could explain to me how it is a science project because really, what are the independent and dependent variables? Specifically, I was thinking of doing a more extended project of proving that the areas of all the triangles after the equilateral triangle are equal to its area. I don't know if my science teacher will accept this as an official experiment because how do you go about the procedure? I was just curious as to how this project conforms with the scientific method-i.e. what data would I collect. I would appreciate any help you could give me on this. Thank you.

[Gaby S.]

P.S. I didn't think I could put this into the Math and Computer Sciences column because this really dealt with if it was an experiment at all. Sorry!

[Gaby S.]

To help you out, what I want to know is if I can devise a "fair test" out of the project or is it already one? Just for clarification.