A Math Podcast

There is a pretty good podcast out there about math. Even your ipod is not safe from becoming an educational tool. The Math Factor has short audio discussions about math but to make it worth it, you should look at the website to see the write up about the topic. There are quite a few interesting ideas in there. Browse around.

Oct.21-24

Here is this weeks lessons and homework. Enjoy. Oct.21-24
Don't forget to go to the main website for worksheets, extra practice, extra links, quizzes, etc...

Easy Math Puzzles

Here are little math puzzles courtesy of BBC Radio.

Question of the Week

Here is a challenge for all students. Try to prove this little geometric construction. We will discuss it in Math Society at lunch on Wednesday. Come with your attempt(s) at the solution.

Photography and Your Graphing Calculator

Here is another use for your favorite graphing Calculator. Turn it into an Intervalometer for your time lapse photography. Go to Instructables for explanations.

Geometry of Trig Ratios

Here is a little challenge for you. Prove that all the trig ratios can be drawn on the unit circle. Enjoy! Select "The unit circle on Geogebra" to see the unit circle with the ratios. If you want the unit circle and ratios without the challenge questions select "Unit Circle 1" and if you want the unit circle, ratios and their associated graphs select "Unit Circle 2"

Oct.13-17

Here is this weeks lessons and homework. Enjoy. Oct.13-17
Don't forget to go to the main website for worksheets, extra practice, extra links, quizzes, etc...

Video: Dimensions

There is a wonderful series of short videos called "Dimensions" created by Jos Leys, Étienne Ghys and Aurélien Alvarez. It is a strikingly beautiful series that is free for download or watching online. Since we finished complex numbers in HL Math in grade 12, I thought I would post the link to 2 chapters on the subject: chapters 5 and 6. The end segment on complex numbers contains some mezmerising graphics. Details on these chapters are also online if you would like to read more about the information in the videos. From the website: "One should consider these chapters as supplementary, as illustrations which encourage further learning or maybe as reminders of lessons forgotten long ago. Certainly the film tries above all to show clearly the geometric side of complex numbers."
Below is an image from the final sequence of chapter 6.

Canadian Mathematics Competition

The University of Waterloo has organized the Canadian Mathematics Competition contests. These are contests designed for every grade from 7 to 12. They also post the past contests on their website. This means that you have access to the past nine years of math contests from them. It is a great source to practice your math skills. Some of the last questions in part C of the contests can be worthy of further exploration. Here is an example of what can be done using the free Geogebra math software.

This Week's Number: i

In the IB HL grade 12 class, we completed our exploration of complex numbers. Listen to BBC radio’s series on numbers. The episode is titled "The Imaginary Number". It is a radio series hosted by Simon Singh. Here is also the two short proofs we discussed in class for Euler's exponential form of complex numbers.

Book Review

"1089 AND ALL THAT" by David Acheson is a tiny book which provides an excellent overview of mathematics. Using an informal approach and plenty of humor, Mr. Acheson presents profound ideas with neat puzzles, illustrations and cartoons along with his concise writing. You can find it in the BUPS library. Of course, you can always order a copy of your own from your local bookstore or internet retailer! Highly recommended.

Contest Question

Here is a question from the 2007 Cayley Contest from the Canadian Mathematics Competition.
Square in a Square Problem

Dividing a Square

Here is a simple problem: Cut a unit square into 5 triangles whose areas are in geometric progression. Seems easy but the mathematical solution is not always as easy as it first seems. Here is the solution we came up with. Do you have other suggesstions?

Oct.6-10

Here is this weeks lessons and homework. Enjoy. Oct.6-10
Don't forget to go to the main website for worksheets, extra practice, extra links, quizzes, etc...