MATH 125: Computer-assisted problem solving in mathematics Taught in computer classroom PH 324 Mathematica-based Paperless environment Electronic worksheets and exams
Projects (adapted from Rose-Hulman) Dragstik Stick is attached to wheel rolling along floor. Represent by parametric curve. Analyze motion, velocity, acceleration
Ballpark Design the outfield fence so that the field does not favor any particular angle
Rock Out At an outdoor concert, three rock bands play at varying levels. Goal: to find the quietest spot in the triangle between the bands.
Comments Students took longer on exams Immediate feedback on solutions Students came to class early & stayed late Different ways of learning successful
First Year Seminar Fractals: The Geometry of Nature
Examples of fractals
Natural fractals
Natural fractals??
Iteration Fractals are created by iterative procedures, often many thousands of iterations. A computer helps! The chaos game tal/software/ tal/software/
Fractal forgeries FDesign software FRACTAL FORGERY PROJECT: Try making an IFS image of a picture of a natural object of your own choosing. Leaves, flowers, broccoli and cauliflower all work well. You can construct the blueprint either by hand (make a sketch of the objects edge and then cut smaller copies, arranging them to mostly cove the image), or using a computer program. Use FDesign or Frame’s Random IFS to generate your final image. Record the transformations used.
MATH 10 College Algebra Mark McCombs/FITAC grant Course well-suited to self-paced learning Website: ombs/web/alg/collegealgebra.htmlhttp:// ombs/web/alg/collegealgebra.html Expansion planned
Other courses Calculus: planning possible lab component Multivariable calculus: to aid 3-dimensional visualization Differential equations Symmetry seminar Non-Euclidean geometry Linear algebra Other software: MATLAB, Maple, Geometer’s Sketchpad