Calculus Activity Grab Bag Chris Cunningham Department of Mathematics

Outline 5 Activities For each Activity, Activity Overview Requirements for a Similar Activity How Did it Go?

1. Experiments and Chaos Activity Overview (next year’s population) = (parameter) *(this year’s population) * (1 – this year’s population) Population ranges from 0.0 to 1.0. The question for students: “How does this model behave?”

1. Experiments and Chaos Activity Overview Each student gets a different parameter value. Using a calculator, each “sees what happens” starting with population 0.1. Everyone plots results on the chalkboard until a general picture starts to emerge.

1. Experiments and Chaos Requirements for a Similar Activity A “big picture” A lot of tedious work needed to see it A nice picture for the “big picture.”

1. Experiments and Chaos How Did it Go?

1. Experiments and Chaos How Did it Go?

1. Experiments and Chaos How Did it Go? What are students actually doing during the activity? What are students going to “take away” from the activity? “Do we have to know this for the test?”

2. Relays Activity Overview Students are organized into teams of 3 Student 1 gets a problem. Student 2 gets a problem that is unsolvable without the solution of problem 1. Student 3 gets a problem that is unsolvable without the solution of problem 2.

2. Relays Activity Overview 1.Find (16 * 16 – 14 * 14). 2. Let N = TNYWR. Find (61 * 61 – N * N). 3. Let N = TNYWR. If someone's birthday is today and they are N years old, what year were they born?

2. Relays Activity Overview 1. (16 * 16 – 14 * 14) = (61 * 61 – 60 * 60) = Let N = TNYWR. If someone's birthday is today and they are N years old, what year were they born? 2012 – 121 = 1891.

2. Relays Requirements for a Similar Activity Problems that are “partially solvable” even with partial information Problems that are expected to be solved quickly

2. Relays How Did it Go? What are students actually doing during the activity? What are students going to “take away” from the activity? “Do we have to know this for the test?”

3. Logarithms Activity Overview Give them a toy to play with and “figure out.” Ask questions about the toy. Get them to build a better version of the toy.

3. Logarithms Activity Overview

3. Logarithms Requirements for a Similar Activity An “abstract” concept that has a nice physical interpretation A cool invention that is old enough to be forgotten by students

3. Logarithms How Did it Go? What are students actually doing during the activity? What are students going to “take away” from the activity? “Do we have to know this for the test?”

4. Rosetta Stone Activity Overview Students are given a mysterious packet. Students must decipher the code motivating them to solve the problems. Students know the prize is somewhere in the building waiting for them.

4. Rosetta Stone Activity Overview

4. Rosetta Stone Activity Overview

4. Rosetta Stone Requirements for a Similar Activity The “answers” to the problems must be able to encode something Are the answers letters? Numbers? Words? This takes a lot of time to set up Prizes are needed

4. Rosetta Stone How Did it Go? What are the students actually doing during the activity? What are the students going to “take away” from the activity? “Do we have to know this for the test?”

5. Astronomy Activity Overview

5. Astronomy Activity Overview

5. Astronomy Activity Overview !!!!!!!!

5. Astronomy Requirements for a Similar Activity Almost any math or science topic could probably be the basis for a science fiction story… Requires some creative energy to put the problems together in this way.

5. Astronomy How Did it Go? What are students actually doing during the activity? What are students going to “take away” from the activity? “Do we have to know this for the test?”

Wrap-Up 1.Experiments and Chaos 2.Relays 3.Logarithms 4.Rosetta Stone 5.Astronomy What are students actually doing during the activity? What are students going to “take away” from the activity? “Do we have to know this for the test?” Contact me to collaborate/chat!