Volume 3, Number 12

23 March 1998 Vol. 3, No. 12 THE MATH FORUM INTERNET NEWS Annenberg/CPB: Polls | Online Developer: Java | Car Talk Puzzler POLLS - WHAT DO THE NUMBERS TELL US? http://www.learner.org/exhibits/statistics/ What is a random sample? What is a margin of error? Enter this site by taking part in a survey; then follow a year in a fictitious election campaign for an inside look at the mathematics behind the polls and the statistics affecting the political news you hear every day. This exhibit explores well-known statistical concepts - random sampling, margin of error, and confidence - through activities where YOU play the pollster. Also included is a page of pointers to other Web sites related to statistics: http://www.learner.org/exhibits/statistics/resources.html The site is part of the Annenberg/CPB Projects Exhibits Collection, and is inspired by the PBS video Against All Odds. -|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|- ONLINE DEVELOPER'S REFERENCE LIBRARY: JAVA:EDUCATIONAL:MATH http://www.developer.com/directories/pages/dir.java.educational.math.html Java applets to investigate using a fast connection and a Java-enabled browser. Math applets are listed for various levels in the following categories: - Basics and Children's (19) - Fractals (37) - Games and Puzzles (19) - General (67) - Geometry (25) - Plotting, Graphing, and Drawing (67) - Tools (42) Following are a few suggestions: ARITM - Mikael Bonnier http://www.df.lth.se/~mikaelb/aritm/aritm.shtml A Java applet for basic arithmetic drill (1- or 2-digit terms) using digits, words, or Roman numerals. EXPLORE PATTERNS IN PASCAL'S TRIANGLE - Jeremy Baer http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/jbaer/classes/blaise/blaise.html Pascal's triangle offers many interesting number patterns to explore with this applet. THE GAME OF CHAOS - Juergen Giesen http://mgw.dinet.de/physik/ChaosSpiel/ChaosEnglish.html Does the Game of Chaos produce a random pattern of dots? This applet performs the game at varying speeds. THE PRISONER'S DILEMMA - Walter Korman http://www.go2net.com/people/paulp/deep/1997/02/26/ An overview of a classic game theory problem, with applets that demonstrate different strategies of play. JAVASKETCHPAD - Nicholas Jackiw http://www.mathforum.org/dynamic/java_gsp/ Applets made using dynamic geometry sketches created with The Geometer's Sketchpad. From GAMELAN, The Official Directory for Java. For other interesting presentations, explore their searchable site. http://www.developer.com/directories/pages/dir.java.html -|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|- MAKING A PI NECKLACE Diana Funke, Mathematics teacher at Davisville Middle School in North Kingstown, RI, responded to our call for Pi Day activities. See her suggestion at http://mathforum.org/teachers/middle/activities/pi_day.html -|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|- THE CAR TALK PUZZLER - Tom and Ray Magliozzi http://cartalk.msn.com/Radio/puzz-intro.asp Each week on their National Public Radio show, Car Talk, Tom and Ray, a.k.a. Click & Clack, the Tappet Brothers, present their listeners with a conundrum. "Sometimes it has to do with the inner workings of cars. Sometimes it has to do with language, algebra, or something else you should have learned in the seventh grade... But more often than we'd like to admit, the Puzzler has to do with more esoteric things like the bubonic plague, electric trolleys in Brooklyn, or the urgent need for a haircut." This site offers a weekly puzzle and links to archives of past puzzles where you'll find the names of winners and answers in text or audio versions of program transcripts. Here and there you'll find a straight math question, and there are math and logic problem-solving nuggets scattered throughout. Here are some of the more obviously math-related: Potato: http://cartalk.msn.com/Radio/pzans9626.html Prison Marbles: http://cartalk.msn.com/Radio/pzans9636.html Tom Hoofs it Home: http://cartalk.msn.com/Radio/pzans9649.html Low Tide: http://cartalk.msn.com/Radio/pzans9707.html Behind Door Number One... http://cartalk.msn.com/Radio/pzans9743.html Product Placement: http://cartalk.msn.com/Radio/pzans9802.html Frank's Party of Five: http://cartalk.msn.com/Radio/pzans9807.html -|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|- CHECK OUT OUR WEB SITE: The Math Forum http://mathforum.org/ Ask Dr. Math http://mathforum.org/dr.math/ Problems of the Week http://mathforum.org/students/ Internet Resources http://mathforum.org/~steve/ Join the Math Forum http://mathforum.org/join.forum.html Send comments to the Math Forum Internet Newsletter editors _o \o_ __| \ / |__ o _ o/ \o/ __|- __/ \__/o \o | o/ o/__/ /\ /| | \ \ / \ / \ /o\ / \ / \ / | / \ / \

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