Volume 3, Number 35

31 August 1998 Vol. 3, No. 35 THE MATH FORUM INTERNET NEWS 7th Grade Math - Alejandre | Stressed Out - Lanius | Kepler Conjecture 7TH GRADE MATHEMATICS - Suzanne Alejandre http://mathforum.org/alejandre/frisbie/math.html Frisbie Middle School in Rialto, California uses as one of its math texts Glencoe's Interactive Mathematics. The seventh grade mathematics curriculum consists of six units: team building, data sense, area and perimeter, probability, modular arithmetic and measurement of angles. Suzanne Alejandre's Web units, designed to support this curriculum, provide models for introducing interactive lessons and recording the techniques a teacher uses. Activities: - offer a combination of manipulatives and technology - use the computer as a tool - are of sufficient length to engage students fully - can be presented using several strategies - provide links to the California and the NCTM Standards Unit 7 is ready for the 1998-99 school year: http://mathforum.org/alejandre/frisbie/unit7.html Some Unit 7 activities are specific to the text, while others stand on their own. Fully developed pages include: Traffic Jam http://mathforum.org/alejandre/frisbie/student.jam.html Dominoes http://mathforum.org/alejandre/frisbie/student.poly.html Bricks http://mathforum.org/alejandre/frisbie/student.brick.html Locker Problem http://mathforum.org/alejandre/frisbie/student.locker.html As the school year progresses, additions and revisions will be made, samples of student work will be linked to the lessons, and Units 8-12 will be developed more fully. For written reactions from last year's 7th graders, follow the link at the top of the main page to "Students' Reflections." -|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|- STRESSED OUT: SLOPE AS RATE OF CHANGE - Cynthia Lanius http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/Algebra/stress.html It's the night of the big game. You're in the locker room. The coach is pumping the team up. "Now, I know you people are nervous. That's okay, in fact, that's what we want. You're going to perform better on the court if you're a little nervous." Does the graph shown confirm what the coach is saying? Which part of the graph illustrates where stress is highest? where performance is highest? Which part of the graph illustrates where performance is increasing? decreasing? In this algebra lesson for grades 8-11, Cynthia Lanius presents slope as rate of change, and students investigate the slopes of straight lines and curves. Teachers' Notes introduce the lesson, which is written to comply with the NCTM Standards, especially as they discuss the study of functions, and Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), and presents the basic knowledge and skills important to a study of functions in algebra, laying the groundwork for calculus. http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/Algebra/stresst.html -|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|- THE KEPLER CONJECTURE - Thomas C. Hales, Samuel P. Ferguson http://www.math.lsa.umich.edu/~hales/countdown/ In a booklet published in 1611, J. Kepler described the arrangement of equal spheres into the familiar cannonball arrangement. He asserted that The packing will be the tightest possible, so that in no other arrangement could more pellets be stuffed into the same container. Thomas Hales and Samuel Ferguson claim to have proved the Kepler Conjecture, that no packing of equal-sized spheres in space can have greater density than that of the face-centered-cubic packing. The full proof is included in postscript format, as well as some background, history, popular and academic articles, a link to the "serious stuff" for discrete geometers who wish to check the technical details of the solution, and links to the software used. \|/ This back-to-school mailing of The Math Forum Internet News marks our 100th issue, with over 2,200 subscribers. -|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|- 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/pow/ 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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