Math is...

Math is...

Math is understanding graphs, and interpreting charts. It is being able to apply math to anything and everything in everyday life. Math is shopping and discounting percents off of the price. Math is everything, and without it we would not have any technology or understand even a fraction of what we do understand about the world today. Math is with you when you are running, walking, even breathing. No matter what situation you can think of, math is able to be applied to it. For example, you may think that just driving to school has nothing to do with math, but it has everything to do with it. Your miles per hour (mph), speed limit, and rotations per minute (rpm) are all key factors to keeping your car running. Therefore, without a doubt, MATH IS EVERYWHERE.

Class Response Blog - #2

This week in class, we did a really cool experiment that had to do with;

THE WATER CYCLE

There were buckets around the classroom filled with water in each one. They were labeled:

-Ocean
-Aquifer
-Rivers & Lakes
-Reservoir
-Agriculture
-Industry

First, we would each get a card that said what item we would use which demonstrated each part of the water cycle. They were:

Spoon = Evaporation (If you get the spoon, you must take water out of your assigned tub of water (on the index card) and put it into your other assigned tub of water)
Small Cup = Cloud (You must walk around the classroom and when you find evaporation [a spoon], they must put their water in your cup if they have not yet reached their destination. Once the amount of water collected reaches a certain point in the cloud, it must be dumped into the Aquifer)
Big Cup = Humans (The humans must dip their cups into the Aquifer and dump it into one of the human tubs [Agriculture & Industry]

Then Pollution was added to the cycle (blue food dye) from human tubs like Agriculture and Industry. This activity really shows how human influence can not only ruin the balance of the water cycle, but also alter it completely. The human tubs were completely flooded within minutes, while the Aquifer was completely gone. However, since the ocean is so large, it was minimally effected by this. I believe this is a great way to demonstrate the water cycle and how we effect it.

Class Response Blog - #1

In class, we learned how to make;

KITES

We have been working with wind and weather. Recently, in class we were given an assignment to make kites. However, many things come in to making a kite so that it can actually fly. The kites had to be at least 20 x 20 cm long. Then, we went outside and tried to fly our kites. (Even though the wind speed was going from about 0-3 mph). This activity has taught us about wind, and how it relates with kites. The shape, structure, and stability of the kite all come in to play when trying to make it fly.

Social Studies Blog (Part 2 Assignment)

30 years ago, things were very different than life today. For example they didn't have iPods, Cell phones, Laptops, Flat Screen TVs, etc. However, there is one advancement in society that I believe has made the greatest impact on the world. It is called;

The Internet

It has brought the world closer together and given all countries and continenets all over the world a connection. Someone in Tokyo can send an email to someone in New York, and it can be read and replied to in a matter of seconds! 30 years ago, that would be impossible to do that quickly due to the fact that you would have to send a letter, wait for the person to return a new letter with a reply. The Internet speeds up communication to an extreme level. I believe that without the Internet, we might not have invented nearly half of the things that we have today!

Math Extra Credit Blog #1 - 140 Year Old Problem Solved

There is a math problem that has defeated mathamaticians for over 140 years. However, recently, a man from London solved it. The problem is in an area of math known as Conformal Mapping which scientists use to make complicated and intricate shapes in to simple circular shapes. The article from ScienceDaily.com states "A formula, now known as the Schwarz-Christoffel formula, was developed by two mathematicians in the mid-19th century to enable them to carry out this kind of mapping. However, for 140 years there has been a deficiency in this formula: it only worked for shapes that did not contain any holes or irregularities." Professor Crowdy was also reported as saying "This formula is an essential piece of mathematical kit which is used the world over. Now, with my additions to it, it can be used in far more complex scenarios than before. In industry, for example, this mapping tool was previously inadequate if a piece of metal or other material was not uniform all over - for instance, if it contained parts of a different material, or had holes." Obviously, math is not completley figured out, and there are still some mysteries in the mathematics world.

E.D.-ucation News Podcast

This is our first podcast!
(Yes, we know it is a little long and boring but please give us comments about it anyway :])

CLICK HERE FOR THE PODCAST

We are doing a Podcast Interview with Dr. James D. Wright from Rutgers University. Below is a list of the podcasts that other students in Omega made. (Let them load they take a minute)

Computers Speak Dog?-- Current Event-- Blog #3

The amazing computers of today can speak just about every language known to man. But what about Dog? The topic is:

COMPUTERS CAN NOW SPEAK DOG!


This new computer that can understand barks of dogs is amazing. They first recorded 6 barks from 14 Hungarian Sheepdogs, and let the computer analyze them. Each bark meant something different (Ex. Walk, Play, Fight, etc.). The news article from LiveScience explains what it can do:
"After analyzing digital versions of the barks, overall the computer program correctly identified the kinds of barks the dogs made 43 percent of the time — about the same as humans' 40 percent, said researcher Csaba Molnár, an ethologist at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary. The software identified 'walk' and 'ball' barks better than people, although people identified 'play' and 'alone' barks better than the software."

The computer even analyzed the correct bark 52% of the time! You may think that is low, but it is still accurate more than half of the time!

They continue to improve the machine and hope to come through with more discoveries about the canine language soon.

SOURCES

LiveScience News Article