Gonzaga just won the finals of this year’s March Madness tournament. Still, which NCAA teams have had the best basketball programs over the years. Students decide which stats count towards the “Greatest March Madness Program”. Once students decide their “best program ever,” challenge them use a different criteria than they originally used.
This activity is a investigation intended to get students and teachers to loosen up a little and appreciate how just considering a situation might lead you to a very reasonable approximation.
Too often students think that there is only one answer that is right and that the method for approaching that solution is also limited to the “correct” approach. Surely this fear of experimenting and guessing leads to math anxieties and the fear to reason and experiment.
Three Saint Patrick’s Day activities. (1) The probabilities of finding a 4-leaf clover; (2) the necessary proportion to dye the Chicago river green for the day; and (3) nutritional evaluation of McDonalds’ Shamrock Shake. Plus, watch a great video to learn how to spot a 4-leaf clover.
We have two Iditarod activities for you and your classes to choose from. Appreciate the “Greatest Race on Earth”!
For every dollar that you spend, you accumulate points. You can cash them in for savings on groceries, apply them to your gasoline purchases, or even use them to give to a food kitchen. If you are going to use them for gasoline or groceries, which way gets you the best deal?
The date of the Presidential Inauguration this year can be written in an interesting way. What do you notice? What do you wonder? Do you think that this happens often in a year?
Just before Thanksgiving there are competitions all over the world to celebrate cool design, tricky engineering, and to donate a whole lot of food. How many cans does it take to build this structure? What information do you need to determine this? How did you determine your solution? What else did you notice that is mathematical?
Appalachian Trail Needs – Calculating the needs and rates involved in enduring this 2,168 mile trek.
Steepness and Fall Hiking – Use a little mathematics about percent grade change in hiking.
In 2018, the trailer of a truck filled with Ramen noodles was stolen from a parking lot in Georgia. The trailer contents were valued at $98,000. What do you wonder about this? Is this even possible?
Could $98,000 worth of Ramen even fit in a tractor trailer?
For health concerns, professional sports now have no actual live fans. To help generate the excitement and semblance of fans, some teams use cardboard cutouts of people. Some use Zoom screens of fans. The NBA creates virtual fans. Actual viewers…
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…
How much more “stufed” are they compared to Triple Double Oreos, Double Stuf Oreos or even Original Oreos. Does this look yummy to you or gross? Why are they filled with creme and not cream? Maybe Nabisco’s employees can’t spell. What do you think?
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…
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.