Tag Archives: math
Pi Day Arrives Again!
Once again, as the Earth travels its circuitous path around the Sun, we arrive on that day we call pi day. Just two weeks ago we had Leap Day, to help correct for the fact that our spheroid’s spins and … Continue reading
Phi Project
So, as I explained yesterday, I decided to create a project centered around golden ratio, phi (φ) ≈ 1.6180339887, and the associated Fibonacci sequence 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,…. My classroom has computers, so I had students go back and forth between watching parts of Vi Hart’s videos … Continue reading
Golden Ratio
I can’t believe I’ve taught math for almost six years and not done much with the golden ratio, phi (φ) ≈ 1.6180339887, and the associated Fibonacci sequence 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,… (add the previous two numbers to get the next number, so 8+13=21 c0mes … Continue reading
Filed under math
Math is in the Air!
Math is in the air this week as we close in on that most special of mathematical holidays, pi day. Pi Day is only a week away, and I for one can’t wait! I’ve emailed our school secretary so pi … Continue reading
11.11.11
(or ||/||/||) Happy unary day! And happy unary moment! Unary, what we used to call tallying in elementary school, is the simplest and oldest counting system. Each item you are counting is matched up with a marked line, on paper or in … Continue reading
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Pi-ling Up On Pi
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears … Oops, sorry, you can have your ears back (hope they still fit on the sides of your head); the ides of March are not ’til tomorrow. But still, friends of pi, do … Continue reading
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Algebra 2 / Trig Skills
Hi! I’m looking for some feedback on what skills I should use in my standards-based grading Algebra 2 with Trigonometry (A2T) course spring semester. I just threw together the following list as a rough draft, and do expect to edit … Continue reading
The Pythagorean Theorem
Possibly the most famous theorem in all of mathematics. Over 300 distinct proofs of this theorem exist, including one discovered in 1876 by future president James Garfield. [Unfortunately, his mathematical prowess did not protect him from the assassin's bullet.] I … Continue reading
The Thrill of the Chase
“We need these experiences — noticing patterns, making conjectures, struggling with them mostly unaided by the teacher, researching appropriate related material, crafting a series of flawed-but-each-one-better-than-the-last arguments for why the conjecture could be true, creating a good logical argument and … Continue reading
Science and Engineering Fest
A week ago, on Sunday 10/24, I woke up early, walked to Baltimore’s Penn Station, and got on a train to Washington, D.C. The moon was out as I walked in both cities. In DC, I walked around exploring and … Continue reading
Filed under engineering, math
