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How
is math “real”? Here are some mathematical ways
of looking at the world around you, along with a few links
to get you started. As you head out, it’s a great
idea to carry some paper, a pencil, calculator, stopwatch
and tape measure with you. Who knows when you’ll need
them? Do you have some other ideas? Contact
Us so we can include them on the list.
Click on one of the categories below for some activity
ideas!
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Art: |
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Visit
an
art
gallery
or
browse
through
art
books.
Look
for
symmetry
and
use
of
geometric
shapes.
Create
your
own
art
by
drawing,
painting
or
using
a
computer
program.
http://www.currier.org/
http://kimballjenkins.com/
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| Careers:
|
Interview
an adult you know about how he or she uses math in every day
life. You might be surprised. Challenge: Try to find someone
who never uses math (bet you can’t!) Here are a few
places to find out more about careers that use math:
http://www.gettech.org/
http://www.ams.org/careers/archived.html
Read
more about famous mathematicians from history:
http://www.allmath.com/biography.php
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/%7Ehistory/BiogIndex.html
http://scidiv.bcc.ctc.edu/Math/MathFolks.html
http://www.scottlan.edu/lriddle/women/women.htm
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| Cooking:
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| Weight,
capacity, temperature and time are all important parts of
cooking. Prepare a batch of cookies to practice your fractions
in a delicious way (double or halve the recipe for an excellent
lesson on fractions, multiplying, and ratios). Cut a round
pizza or cake into halves, and then continue to halve each
piece until the number of slices is right for your family.
Use what you know about rectangles and multiplication to
figure out the best way to cut brownies into equal pieces.
http://pizzatherapy.com/Learning.htm
http://kid.allrecipes.com/default.asp
http://www.recipesource.com/misc/kids/
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| Demographics
& Statistics: |
| Find
out more about how numbers affect your neighbors across
New Hampshire. Take a look at census data to determine population
(you can even learn how many children your age live in your
town), learn about tax rates and school sizes. Calculate
how many years ago your town was settled, and compare the
population growth from the first census to the current numbers.
Make a graph showing some of the things you’ve learned.
http://www.nhes.state.nh.us/elmi/communpro.htm
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| Language:
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What’s math got to
do with reading and writing? Word problems ask you to apply
your math skills, but often do not use numerals in the questions.
Practice explaining your thinking (think about what you’re
thinking about!) – and your skills will improve. Take
our math idioms quiz to see how much
you know about the math sayings that are commonly used in
everyday language.
Mathematics
also has a language all its own. Check out some of the symbols
used in math and learn their meanings:
http://www.answers.com/topic/table-of-mathematical-symbols
http://www.scenta.co.uk/tcaep/maths/symbol/Mathematical%20Symbols/index.htm
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci803019,00.html
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| Money: |
Visit
a local bank and ask about interest rates and savings accounts.
Watch the stock market reports and choose a company that
you’re familiar with to keep track of. Are their stocks
gaining or losing? Learn as much as you can about investing;
it may really pay off in your future!
http://library.thinkquest.org/4116/Investing/investin.htm
Use a currency converter to see how much your American dollars
would be worth in a foreign country.
http://www.rubicon.com/passport/currency/currency.html
http://www.oanda.com/converter/classic
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| Music:
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Attend
a concert or listen to a piece of music at home. Can you
use what you know about fractions to tell the difference
between quarter, half and whole notes? Play notes on your
favorite instrument and listen to the different tones as
you play through an octave. Practice your math facts set
to music – it really does help you remember!
http://www.nhphilharmonic.org/
http://www.ccanh.com/
http://library.thinkquest.org/4116/Music/music.htm
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| Nature: |
| Take
a walk outside and look for geometry. Sketch what you see
or take a digital camera along to record your observations.
Can you find parallel and perpendicular line segments? Watch
for different types of angles, polygons, or even tessellations.
Choose something to record (for example: number of maple
trees or birds), keep track of the data with tally marks
as you go, and then create a graph.
http://www.nhparks.state.nh.us/
http://www.newhampshire.com/outdoor/index.cfm
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us
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| News:
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Do
you want instant proof that math is all around you? Pick
up a newspaper or news magazine, watch the TV news, or listen
to the news on the radio. Record how many times you hear
a number mentioned within sixty seconds. What types of graphs
do you find? You can check out online versions using these
links:
http://www.thewmurchannel.com/index.html
http://www.nhptv.org/
http://www.nhpr.org/
http://www.concordmonitor.com
http://www.theunionleader.com/
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage
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| Shopping:
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Have
fun while you’re shopping with your parents. Compare
produce prices: which costs more, a pound of apples or a
pound of broccoli? Use the produce scale to see how much
your bag weighs and your math skills to figure out the final
price. Determine which store is having the best sale on
clothing, music, candy or anything else that interests you.
What was the original price and how does the sale work (percent
off, fraction of the original price, special deal)? Create
an imaginary budget and then use newspaper flyers to see
how far your money will go. How many weeks’ worth
of allowance will you need to save to buy something you
really want?
http://www.lawpublish.com/education/grocmath.html
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| Sports:
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Whether
you’re keeping track of your own performance or that
of a favorite high school or professional player, sports
are a fun way to practice your skills. Use a spreadsheet
program on your computer or a piece of graph paper to record
best times (swimming, running, skiing, etc.) on a line graph.
Create a bar graph to record points scored at each game
of a season. Use what you know about fractions to figure
out batting or free throw averages. Which teams post the
best win-lose records for the season?
This
site offer links for some New Hampshire (and New England)
sports:
http://www.directorynh.com/NHRetail-ConsumerSites/NHSportingEvents.html
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| Time:
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|
Get
out a stopwatch or another sort of timer and record how
long it takes you to do something. This is a great way to
practice reading decimals (tenths and hundredths). Keep
track of starting and ending times to determine “elapsed
time” by subtracting. Record timing from your favorite
radio station: how long is each song, how long are the advertisements,
how many minutes pass with the DJ or other announcers speaking?Compare
the time here in New Hampshire with the time in other locations
around the world.Learn
about time zones and different types of calendars.
http://www.apples4theteacher.com/world-clock.html
http://www.time.gov/
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| Traveling:
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Play
math games to make the time pass more quickly. Look at a
map’s scale and try to determine how long it will
take you to get from one place to another. Look for numbers
on license plates and road signs and see who will be the
first to find all the numerals (0 – 9) in order. Keep
track of how many gallons of gasoline your car’s tank
holds and how many miles you’ve traveled to determine
the approximate miles per gallon. Play a game of twenty
questions, using numbers and questions about them (is it
odd? Is it divisible by 10? etc.)
http://www.tripkids.com/fun/games.html
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| Weather:
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A
great way to practice reading and comparing temperatures
is to record daily highs and lows. Calculate the mean (average),
median (middle value when list is arranged in numerical
order), mode (value found most often), and the range (difference
between the least and greatest values) for each month. Which
towns in New Hampshire show the highest and lowest temperatures?
Keep track of ocean and lake temperatures in the summer
and snowfall in the winter. Make a record of sunrise and
sunset or high and low tides.
http://www.thewmurchannel.com/weather/index.html
Do you wonder what it’s like at the top of Mount Washington?
http://www.mountwashington.org/
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