At the beginning of the unit, we read an expert from The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allen Poe. After reading this excerpt, we learned different skills and techniques to eventually build up to learning how to answer the question of "How much time will the protagonist have to escape the pendulum?" Our learning target for this unit was "I will use curve fitting to find an equation for the period of a pendulum and make a prediction for the time of escape." Our unit question was "What determines the period of a pendulum." At the end of this unit, students were asked to determine the exact amount of time that the prisoner had to escape by recording data then converting that data into a definite answer. The main skills that we learned were, curve fitting, parabolas, statistics, etc. Before this unit, I had no prior knowledge in these areas. In fact, I had never even heard a lot of these terms. However, throughout this unit I feel that I have gained a better understanding of each topic listed above. Moving forward, I am hoping to maintain my understanding of these concepts, as I sometimes struggle to remember different strategies used in math to solve problems at hand. I can do this by continuing to practice these skills, using the knowledge that I have gained from this unit in my P.O.W.s, and using my in-class notes. Something that I have learned about myself is that taking notes is something that can be very helpful in math. Also, visually solving problems in the form of diagrams, drawings, or physical measurements help me to keep information in my head. Overall, I am proud of my growth in math thus far in the semester.
Into the Pit Quiz/Unit Assessment
For this unit assessment, we reviewed some of the concepts from this unit. These included creating and interpreting data through parabolas, calculating percentages, determining the mean, median, mode, and range of a data set, graphing equations, interpreting data tables, etc. I received a score of 17/16 on this assignment. This was possible because I solved each problem correctly and completed the challenge extension problems. Overall, I am very proud of the grade I recieved for this assignment. I had almost no experience in most of these topics, and I now feel like I have a solid understanding of the concepts compared to when we started the unit.
P.O.W. #3
For this problem of the week, we were given a scenario and asked to determine the possible outcomes of the scenario. This specific situation asked us to determine the minimum amount of times we could weigh 8 bags of "gold" to determine which is the lightest bag. I determined that it would take a minimum of two weighings. I did this by drawing out diagrams and thinking about the different ways that we could distribute the 8 bags. I then explained my thoughts in the form of writing and illustrations. I am proud of how thorough my work on this POW is and the structure and organization. I received a grade of 20/20 on this POW.
Exponents Exam
During our most recent unit, we studied exponents and explored different ways to solve different formulas and equations. At the beginning of this unit, I did not feel confident at all in my mathematical abilities in the area of exponents. I had almost no experience working with these types of equations and formulas. However, through lots of practice and experimenting, I was able find ways to memorize patterns and understand how exponents work. Overall, I am really proud of how I progressed throughout this math class and within this unit. This has been a fun unit for me because I was able to gain confidence throughout.
P.O.W. (Problem of the Week) #11
*See problem statement*
Unit Reflection - Shadows (Geometry)
In this unit, we focused on different types of geometry. These included things like, proportions, similar triangles, angle measures, Pythagorean theorem, square roots, inverse trig, and trigonometry. Overall, I really enjoyed this unit because I enjoy the visual aspect of geometry along with using my spacial awareness. I felt like a lot of this unit was review from eighth grade for me, however, at the beginning of this unit I had no experience with trigonometry and inverse trig. Therefore, I think that this was definitely the area that I experienced the most growth in because I now feel pretty confident in my skills in trig.