Artistic way to encourage understanding of a conic section. Participants physically build an ellipse by choosing two foci and sketching the figure through a loop of string. While stitching an elliptical string design they puzzle about varying the foci spread and the loop length to create more extreme ellipses and are intuitively introduced to the measurement of eccentricity.
3 activities for the Fourth of July: (1) Folding analysis to make a 5-pointed star; (2) Parabola manipulation to create a fireworks image on your calculator; and (3) Ratios, creativity, and art in creating new flag patterns.
Johns Hopkins University of Medicine has a team that maintains current maps and data about the Coronavirus. They record changes and show trends of the virus activity throughout the World. Enjoy exploring the data, all of the visual mappings, and…
Saturday, June 20th, 2020 Sunrise on summer solstice at Stonehenge On Saturday, June 20th, at 5:44 pm EDT, the Earth’s North Pole will be tilted as far towards the Sun as it will ever be in the year. This marks the…
Thank you Mother and Father for all of those diapers – Which is a better deal, cloth or disposable diapers? How much did you cost your parents in diapers? In the future how much could your kid’s diapers cost? Help…
When you need a loan, and you’re desperate for help, is this a good idea? Students learn about this kind of loan and examine how it compares with personal loans and debt on your credit card. They analyze final payments…
Two activities to help celebrate National Donut Day
How many donuts is that = huge box of donuts to approximate.
How have donuts changed = torus volume measurements, formula intuition, and algebraic transformation of one formula into a second formula.
Students use the pictures in this activity to approximate the size of this 16 roll package of bamboo toilet paper. They use comparison ratios with our Ruth Bader Ginsburg doll to calculate the size of one roll and then calculate the size of 16 rolls. Funny activity.
I risked infecting my friends or becoming infected myself by throwing a very small socially-distanced party. I served baked appetizers, disinfectant wipes, and latex gloves. I cooked while wearing clean latex gloves and served the appetizers with a spatula. The…
NASA and SpaceX plan to launch humans from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, to the International Space Station for the first time since July 11, 2011. This is a more current events activity than mathematical.
This Monday Americans will celebrate Memorial Day. Who are we honoring? How did the holiday come about? Isn’t Memorial Day usually on May 30th? Students learn a little about the history of the holiday, analyze the possibilities and patterns for when…
Since beaches are starting to open again, we thought this activity might bring smiles and hopes. Act One: Check out this beach towel! What do you wonder? What would you like to know? Miami artist, Misael Soto (pictured on the left below),…
Wow! This vacuum can clean up to 2,800 square feet while using only one electrical outlet. How long must its cord be?
See how much particulate matter, low-lying ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide there is in the world’s atmosphere at any one time and place. Students learn about the scale of the AQI and search for some of the contributors to unhealthy locations.
Mother’s Day is right around the corner and this means big business for the greeting card and floral industries. Let your students practice averages, percents, and large numbers while they analyze the statistics on Mother’s Day spending. You could even…
