Should you buy a hybrid or an electric car to save money and the planet? Students create equations for finding the break-even points of these vehicles by mileage and years of ownership. They then work with systems of equations to…
How much pee is in this pool? – A Canadian chemist, Xing-Fang Li, has found a marker for urine that chlorine doesn’t disguise. In this activity, students calculate volume of several pools, change that cubic foot volume to gallons of pool water,…
We have two Father’s Day activities, a Juneteenth activity, and a revised (and shortened) Longest Day/Summer Solstice activity.
Rich Strike surprised everyone at the Kentucky Derby horse race in early May by moving from 18th place at the half-way mark (out of 20 horses) to winning the race. Churchill Downs, the track in Kentucky where the race took place, paid out $81 for every dollar that was bet for Rich Strike to win. How do they figure that?
The Winter Olympics begins this week in Beijing.
Wikipedia had this schedule of events. We think that there is a lot of information missing and apparent in this graphic. What can you tell and what would you like to know?
Egad, Hanukkah begins this year on Sunday evening, November 28th. I think it was in December last year. Why isn’t it always on the same date? Students look at the Hebrew calendar and appreciate the incredible mathematics involved in creating a…
Students figure out the dimensions of these two new balloons using Macy’s hints and judging from the handlers’ sizes.
Here are two very different maps about where Veterans live in the U.S. and which states have the largest density of Veterans citizens. What do these two maps make you wonder or realize? How can you explain their comparison?
You can appreciate why this is such a great celebration when you look at the stages and some of the events and dates of America moving towards freedom from slavery. In this activity students read about the various ways freedom…
Spring is the start of tick encounters. Help students study the prevalence of Lyme disease in the US; in their own state; and methods for preventing it. What are your odds of contracting Lyme disease?
What’s your guess? How fast are the number of daylight hours changing each day? Are the changes dramatic or subtle? Students make guesses; compute how long, on average, the change in daylight hours should be; and finally understand the variability in our year of daylight hours.
In this timely activity, students learn about how cranberries are grown and harvested; estimate their size and quantities; and see what they can deduce from published statistics.
Students learn how the Postal Service is funded and try to decide how the USPS could earn more or spend less in their operation. They finally get to think about whether the post office should be a government run service or a self-sustaining business.
When you look at the new case numbers of the Coronavirus in the U.S. and compare that with various world and national events and our present scientific understandings, what do you wonder? What can you deduce? What might the future…
Why would anyone need such a big roll of toilet paper? How does it compare to Charmin’s other toilet paper products? If this roll lasts for one month, how big a roll would I need to be able to last for one year?