Holiday Madness & Skunk!

Today we shared our answers for part 3 of Holiday Madness. Students found that using a program like Excel, as I showed students in Extended Day, was very helpful in doing the calculations. They also found that paying back twice as much per month reduced the time it took to pay back the money by almost 3/4, demonstrating how important it is to pay as much as possible towards credit card bills to avoid high interest payments. Most students said they were wary of credit cards now.

We also played a fun probability game called Skunk. The rules are simple and it would be a fun game to play with family and friends over the holiday. Class notes with the rules are here.

Homework over the break will be the Stretching & Shrinking Unit Project, due Tuesday, January 19.

Have a wonderful holiday!

Stretching & Shrinking Unit Test

Today students took the Stretching and Shrinking Unit Test. Those who finished early also answered questions on a supplement. Students who did not finish in class may finish in class tomorrow.

No new homework. Remember, Part 3 of Holiday Made$$ is due tomorrow, Thursday, Dec. 17.

Math Reflections 5, Unit Project & Studying for Unit Test

Today we discussed Math Reflections 5, problems 1a and 1b:

How can you estimate heights and distances you can't easily measure with rulers or tape measures by using the following methods?
a. shadows & similar triangles
b. mirrors and similar triangles

Please finish answering these questions by tomorrow, Wednesday, December 16.

We also discussed the Stretching & Shrinking Unit Project, which will be due on Tuesday, January 19, 2010. The handout explaining this project may be downloaded here, and class notes may be downloaded here.

Remember that Part 3 of Holiday Madne$$ is due this Thursday, December 17.

Finally, we worked on the "Looking Back, Looking Ahead" (LBLA), which can be downloaded here, to prepare for the Unit Test tomorrow, Wednesday, December 16. You are not required to finish the LBLA; it is just to help you review.

Holiday Madness & Problem 5.2

Today students shared their collages and purchase lists with each other. Folks turned out to be more interested in wants than needs, believe it or not!

We discussed Part III of Holiday Madne$$, and how to calculate interest. There are step by step examples of how in the classnotes, which can be downloaded here.

We also worked more on problem 5.2, measuring with mirrors, and two main ways to figure out missing lengths in similar triangles, ratios and scale factors. The classnotes are here.

No new homework, but you do have ACE 5.2 homework due tomorrow, and Part III due Thursday.

ACE 5.2: Using Mirrors to find Heights

We practiced more direct and indirect measurement, and applications of our knowledge of similar triangles, by determining the height of tall things indoors, using mirrors, in problem 5.2 today. Classnotes may be downloaded here, and the handout here. We will discuss this more on Monday, so please finish calculating the height of the ceiling if you did not finish this in class.

Students also turned in their credit cards, and there were many creative and proportional ones crafted by the class. They will be up in the Main Room soon for all to admire. Be sure you know the scale factor of your card.

For homework, please choose one of the options below on the handout, which can be downloaded here.

Option 1
Problems 3-4, 22-25

Option 2
Problems 4, 22, 24-25, 35-36

Due Tuesday, December 15.

Remember that Part II of Holiday Madne$$, the collage and list of your purchases (with price and price + tax), is due Monday, Dec. 14. Have a great weekend!

ACE 5.1: Using shadows to find heights

The sun cooperated today and we left the classroom to explore the campus and measure tall structures indirectly, applying our knowledge of similar triangles to a real life situation. We also had some practice measuring lengths to solve problems in Problem 5.1. The handout packet can be downloaded here, and the classnotes can be downloaded here.

For homework, please choose one of the options below from the handout, which can be downloaded here.

Option 1
Problems 1-2, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16

Option 2
Problems 1-2, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17

Due tomorrow, Thursday, December 10. Don't forget that Part 1 of the Holiday Madness project, the credit card, is also due tomorrow.

Top Sums & Calculating Tax on Purchases (Holiday Madne$$)

Today the sun did not cooperate (although it shined before and after math class!) so we weren't able to do the planned lesson using similar triangles to measure distances.

Instead, we had some fun playing Top Sums, a math game with a few simple rules that can be played at home easily too. All you need is some pencil and paper and a die. Download the classnotes for the rules.

We also learned how to calculate 9.75% sales tax on a purchase, to help folks with Part II of the Holiday Madne$$ project. Classnotes explaining some strategies can be downloaded here.

No new homework, but remember that your proportional credit card is due this Thursday.

Holiday Madness & Math Reflections 4

Today we discussed last week's POW, Train Problems, the ACE 4.3 homework, and the new project that will be homework for the next two weeks, Holiday Madne$$. This project looks at proportions, percents, and credit cards, and provides an opportunity for students to "purchase" $10,000 in needs and wants, then find out what it is like to pay off a credit card bill. The handout for this new project can be downloaded here.

Parts of the project will be due in stages and most will be done as homework.

Part 1, Credit Card Design, is due Thursday, December 10.

Create a credit card that is proportional to a real credit card. Measure the width and length of a real credit card and apply a scale factor to create a new width and length (a similar rectangle). It should be carefully, creatively, and colorfully designed on poster board or unlined paper of some sort.

The credit card needs an account number, name, valid from and expires dates. It should also be different (either smaller or bigger) than but similar to a real credit card, and you should be able to tell us what the scale factor is.

Part 2, Making Purchases, is due Monday, December 14.

Part 3, The Bottom Line, is due Thursday, December 17.

We also discussed Math Reflections 4 (MR4), which can be downloaded here. Classnotes are available to read here.

Please answer MR4 questions 1-3 for homework if you did not finish them in class.

Due tomorrow, Tuesday, Dec. 8.

ACE 4.3 Finding Missing Parts

Today Mitch subbed for me in 7A so that I could attend the Gender Spectrum presentation with the sixth grade.

Students looked more at ratios, and how ratios of corresponding sides and scale factors can be used to figure out missing lengths in similar figures, in Problem 4.3, Finding Missing Parts. The handout can be downloaded here, and the classnotes downloaded here.

For homework, please choose one of the options below on the handout, which can be downloaded here.

Option 1
Problems 5-13

Option 2
Problems 6, 8-13, 31-33

Due Monday, December 7. Don't forget that the POW: Train problems, is also due on Monday. Have a good weekend.

ACE 4.1

Today we learned about ratios, a comparison between two numbers. We discussed problem 4.1 in the handout, which you can download here, and used ratios of corresponding sides of rectangles, parallelograms, and triangles to see if they were similar. We found out that for rectangles, with right angles, if the ratio of the length to width is the same, the rectangles are similar. For parallelograms, it is not enough for ratios to be the same: the corresponding angles must be the same too. For triangles, if they have the same corresponding angles, they must be similar. Classnotes can be downloaded here.

For homework, please choose one of the options below on the handout, which you can download here.

Option 1
Problems 1-4, 15-17, 21, 27

Option 2
Problems 1-2, 18-21, 26-28

Due tomorrow, Thursday, December 3.

Math Reflections 3

We did an interesting Cinderella warm up story problem, and continued our work with similarity, scale factors, and their effects on side lengths, perimeter, and area with Problem 3.3. After sharing our answers, we discussed Math Reflections 3, on the last page of the homework handout from yesterday. Classnotes can be downloaded here.

Please complete Mathematical Reflections 3, questions 1-3 as homework if you did not finish them in class.

Due tomorrow, Wednesday, December 2. Remember that ACE 3.3 is also due tomorrow.