Strategies for Always, Sometimes, Never

When responding to always, sometimes, never type questions, the general rule is to answer always when the statement is true forever, to answer never when the statement is false forever, and to answer sometimes when the statement is true part of the time and false part of the time.

Consider the statement: The intersection of a line and a plane is _____ that same line.

What do you have to think about? A plane and a line… How are these two figures related? The line can do one of two things (This is a big clue!): it can lie on the plane where all the points on the line are also on the plane or it can pass through the plane where only one point on the line is on the plane. So, the correct response is SOMETIMES.

Consider the statement: Parallel lines are _____ coplanar.

What does coplanar mean? On the same plane… What does parallel mean? Lines that never intersect going in the same direction…on the same plane. The correct response is ALWAYS.

Consider the statement: A scalene triangle is _____ isosceles.

What does scalene mean? No sides equal… What does isosceles mean? At least two sides equal… This will never happen. So, the correct response is NEVER.