Test Reflection

Test: Standard Math Unit Test 3
Questions : 8*
Graded on: Knowledge and Understanding, Communication in Mathematics, and Investigating Patterns

The test was on hypotenuses, the Pythagorean Theorem, Volumes, Surface Areas, and Statement and Reasons for formulas.

Things I need to Improve on:

• Writing proper units for questions (cm, m, mm, etc.) - I forgot to write proper units for question 5
• Writing "fluid answers" - for question 7 (possibly 8) I left a few holes in my statements
• Have a better understanding of the volumes of pyramids - I was unsure of how to measure the volume of a square based pyramids with question 7
• Writing more with pictures - My Statements and Reasons lacked aid in understanding the diagrams and pictures simply because I didn't write anything with them,

Household Hypotenuse

My mother's MacBook Air is 29.46 cm by 33.78 cm. How long is the MacBook Air diagonally?

Times both of the lengths by themselves, add the answers, and then square it to find the length of C.

29.46 * 29.46 = 867.8916

33.78 * 33.78 = 1141.0884

867.8916 + 1141.0884 = 2008.98

2008.98 (squared) = 44.82

The MacBook Air's Hypotenuse is 44.82 cm

Cable Problem

A cable needs to be put from one corner to the opposite corner. the park is 1 km by 0.5 kilometers. How long does the cable need to be in order to get from one corner to the other?

The formula to solve by is A Squared + B Squared = C Squared.

We know that A Squared is 1 km and B Squared is 0.5 km. From that, lets re-state the numbers into their base units: meters. That means that we have 1000 squared, and 500 squared. Then, we unsquare them. 1000 * 1000 is 1000000. 500 * 500 is 250000. These are then added together (hence the "+") , leaving us with 1250000. Now, square them to equal 1118.03. Simplified it is 1.11km.

The cable should be 1.11km long.

Game Ideas

For Maths we are creating a game where 4 groups are trying to build an extraterrestrial colony on their own planet that they design. There must be realism included.

There is the Agricultural Colony, the Mechanical Colony, the Energy Colony, and the (Unknown) Colony. The only issue being is what we are trying to achieve, what does the game board look like, how do you know you have won, etc.

Some game ideas are:

1. The game is free roam, but the board is covered in tiles. A planet takes up as many tiles as it's size fits into. 
2. Planets are portrayed as such:

Eufloria HD, a game based on colonising asteroids

This means that the planet has it's resources shown around it. On a board, this could be hidden like in scrabble. The gray circle around the planet in the picture shows how far the planet can send things. In the game, the circle could be as big as the resources spent for a specific trip. Also, there could be markers showing the colony on the planet. For specifics on things like economy and air, that could be done on an IPad for each group. Apps suggested: QuickGraph, Calculator, Notes, etc.

• Like StarCraft, one needs different kinds of resources. There could be 5 resources mainly:

1. Population
2. Energy
3. Sustenance
4. Metal
5. (Unknown)-The Fourth Colony hasn't informed me of their main resource export.

These are just baseline ideas. These can be built upon or thrown into recycling.

Charging Batteries (Units May Not Be Used As They Are In Real Life)

Planet XY90 is charging two large 10,000 volt batteries that will power welding tools on the Mechanics/Machinery Planet. However, one battery charges at the rate of 5 volts per second and the other charges at the rate of 15 volts per second. The one that charges at 5vps is already half full as it was not fully used by the previous user.

At what point will both batteries have the same amount of charge (How long will it take to charge the batteries to an equal amount of voltage)? Keep in mind that one has 5,000v of charge while the other has none.

The Problem with the Population Graph

What is wrong with the graph? There were people before 1960!

The main thing wrong with the graph is the fact that its linear. Population doesn't increase steadily, it often doubles the rate as more and more people make babies; so the graph should be NON-linear. The second thing wrong with the graph is that it says there were no people in Serbia before 1960. Any person born in Serbia in the year 1959 will have something to say about that. The line should start at 7,583 people and gradually increase to 7,276,604 people. The graph shouldn't really have a negative y axis either because you can't have a negative amount of people at anytime; the line should start at zero on the date that people first came to Serbia, and then continue.

The Beauty of Data Visualization Reflection

How does visually representing data - measurements in the form of numbers - help us understand information better?

Humans base a giant amount of their world on sight. Information is a visual way of giving information on the world they exist in. A connection is a form of information (portrayed visually) which rationalises data. When making a connection between a visual shape/form and information, similarities are formed in the mind and the brain creates its own way of perceiving the data based on the visual information. It can then reference that to other information as it was presented. If you make data visualised in a way that is confusing for others, then something is not exactly rationalized right.