Scaling Up STEM learning with the VCL
| Our Mission | The process | The Team | Career Role Models | Public Activity Library | Videos | Resources |
Scaling Up STEM learning with the VCL
| Our Mission | The process | The Team | Career Role Models | Public Activity Library | Videos | Resources |
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John Tector, Associate Dean Emeritus for the College of Design at North Carolina State University explains the connection between Geometry, Design, and Architecture.
Activity File: Fathom_Geometry_Activities.pdf
Concepts: Congruent Triangles, Lines, Polygons, Slope of a Line, Surface Area, Volume
Greg Sawicki, Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering at North Carolina State University shares with us his work on wearable robots.
Try using the "how fast do you walk" activity with your students. Greg's team collects the same type of data using motion sensors. He collects the data so that they can build prosthetics that follow the same joint angle trajectories as healthy humans. The motion capture data helps them to understand how the patterns change with speed and gait (walk vs. run).
Activity File: How-Fast-Do-You-Walk.pdf
Concepts: Application Based Word Problems
Alper shares his work with creating integrated biobots, robots made from bugs!
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Concepts: Angles, Functions, Matrices, Variables
Jennifer Tripoli shares with us how she uses qualitative and quantitative research to learn more about customer transactions. She uses ratings systems, customer feedback, surveys, and interviews to help companies learn how to better serve their customers.
---- Related Activity ---- Customer Satisfaction
Synopsis - This activity is designed to use Fathom to analyze real world customer satisfaction data to discover the relationships within the data and make predictions of furture customer satisfaction ratings.
Materials - Fathom, Food Data.csv, Airline Data.csv, Car Data.csv, Department Stores Data.csv, Hotel Data.csv
Notes - Activity is designed to work in pairs. Extension project is available within the lesson. Sample Student Food Data Fathom Lesson is attached.
Activity File: AirlineData.csv, FoodData.csv, CustomerSatisfactionLesson.docx, SampleFoodDataFathom.ftm, DepartmentStoresData.csv, CarData.csv, HotelData.csv---- Windlift Activity----
Synopsis: This activity attached below is designed to use Fathom software to record a controlled experiment involving bottle rockets. Each trial will use a different percentage of water capacity in the bottle to discover the amount of water that will give the rocket maximum height. It will help model quadratic functions and interpret the effects of controlled input values on each output value.
Materials: 16oz. bottles (standard 9/16" opening), water, cardboard, glue/tape, paint (decoration), link: http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/bottlerocket/br2d_b.swf
Notes: This acitivity can be conducted in two ways: 1) The class can build their own bottle rockets and shoot them off in an open area or outdoors. 2) The class can use the website to simulate bottle rocket launches instead of building rockets from the materials.
Attached are the instructions as well as a Fathom file with sample data.
Activity File: MoreIsLess-BottleRockets.doc, bottle-rocket.ftm
Concepts: Coordinate Plane, Graphing Linear Equations, Quadratic Functions
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Concepts: Absolute Value, Fractions
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Concepts: Critical Thinking
Michael Escuti, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at NCSU, shares with us about how he uses Geometry and vectors to control the direction and properties of light.
---- Related Activity ---- Investigating Screen Brightness
Synopsis - This activity is designed to use the Vernier Light Sensor to create a model to represent the change in brightness level for a computer display screen. Some models may represent a linear relationship; others may represent an exponential relationship.
Materials - computer screen(s) or cell phone(s) with brightness adjusting capabilities, fathom, logger lite, vcl, go!Link, Vernier Light Sensor
Notes - Activity works best with groups of 3. Roles include: 1) student to hold the sensor, 2) student change the brightness level, and 3) a student to monitor experiment and manage data in Fathom/Logger Lite.
Activity File:
InvestigatingScreenBrightness.docx
Concepts: Vectors
Watch this video to learn more about how nurses calculate pain medication dosage rates for patients.
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Concepts: Fractions, Proportions, Variables
Lina shares with us an ongoing research project at IBM and how she uses geometry to solve difficult computer networking problems.
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Concepts: Law of Cosines, Law of Sines
Cranos shares with us how math can be used to describe and control plant systems similar to how radio controlled cars are controlled. He describes math as a form of art, which he uses to create new solutions to global problems.
---- Related Activity ---- Faster and Farther
Materials - Go!Motion sensor, Fathom, Logger Lite (if using VCL), five cars, two computers
DESCRIPTION: In this activity students, working in small groups, will conduct an experiment in which they formulate conjectures to determine which variables influence the velocity and total distance traveled of a car rolling down a ramp. They will test their conjectures by conducting a lab using Fathom and motion detectors and matchbox cars
Activity File:
FasterandFartherStudent.doc,
FasterandFartherTemplate.docx,
CarRoll.ftm,
A2 Honors project 1st Six Weeks ANSWER KEY.doc
Concepts: System of Equations, Variables
Want to know more about what a Civil Construction and Environmental Engineer does? Then watch this video to hear about this career from Joe DeCarolis, an Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University. He uses mathematics to solve complex environmental problems.
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Concepts: Linear Programming, System of Equations
Activity File: TypingTutorExperimentKeyCurriculum.pdf
Concepts: Fractions
Learn more about how Scott Saxon uses proportions to determined the size and dimensions of a model airplane.
---- Model Rocket Activity ----
Synopsis - This activity is designed to compare a simplified model of a rocket launch to the actual data collected from an altimeter in a model rocket. Students will be modeling the quadratic pattern in the simplified version, and using a piecewise function from the actual launch
Notes - The Prelaunch calculations are complicated but do a good job teaching student's organization. The rocket launch isn't necessary, but is something the students enjoyed!
Materials - For the parabolic activity:Algebra 1 Fathom Book Activity, Student Experiment Handout and Questions
For the AFM Extension:-SkyTrax rocket data set and Fathom Workspace ,-Pre-Launch Calculations page,
-Launch Day Calculations page, -Post Launch Modeling Packet
For an actual launch:-Estes launch starter set that includes a payload rocket, -PerfectFlite Pnut Altimeter and USB data capture cord
Activity File: PostLaunchwithFathom.docx, ModifiedPostLaunchwithFathom.docx, QuadraticModelRocketFathomActivity.docx, PiecewiseModelRocket.ftm , PhasesofaRocketsFlightActivity.docx, ParabolicModelRocket.ftm
Concepts: Proportions
Bastian Schroeder, a research associate at the Institute for Transportation Research and Education, describes how geometry and the radius of a circle affect traffic speeds in Roundabouts.
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Concepts: Circles, Transformations
Senior Transportation Researcher Daniel Findley discusses how transportation workers use the parabolic equation and vertical curves to design roadways.
---- Related Activity ---- Linear Equations and the Meaning of Slope
Synopsis: You are taking a nice drive in your beautiful car, when suddenly your brakes fail and your car is driving out of control. This activity will allow you to test several different surfaces to see which one would be ideal to safely stop your car.
You will simulate several "test drives" onto different available surfaces and determine which surface provides the best and safest stopping material for your "vehicle'.
Materials: One (1) toy car (bigger than a matchbox car works best), One (1) cardboard ramp approximately 6 inches, Go! Motion detector, Laptop with Fathom connection and Logger Lite, At least 3 different surfaces
Files: Please use "transportation project.ftm and project surface.docx for this activity
Activity File:
Fathom_Algebra-1_Activities.pdf,
EscapeRamp.ftm,
EscapeRamp.pdf,
transportation-project.ftm,
project-surface.docx
Concepts: Quadratic Equation
Shaun, a video game producer for Insomniac Games, talks about how math is used in the video game industry and his experience with math in high school.
---- Related Activity: Using Gym Memberships to Understand Systems----
Synopsis - This activity is designed to apply system of equations to the real-world situation of gym memberships. The students will conduct their own reasearch and use Fathom to analyze and interpret the graphs associated with purchasing a gym membership.
Materials -Fathom, two computers
Notes - Activity works best with groups of 3-4. Roles include: 1) two students to research gym rates 2) student to input the data into Fathom and create the tables and graphs, and 3) a team leader to keep the group organized and on task by following actitvity displayed on their computer.
Activity File: GymMemberships.ftm,
Systems of Equations Activity.docx
Concepts: Application of Systems, Critical Thinking, Indirect Proof, Matrices, Mean-Median Line, Proportions, System of Equations