08-30-10
"It is clear that the chief end of mathematical study must be to make the students think."—John Wesley
Korpi’s Monday Mail
08-30-10
to
09-03-10
Good morning everyone.
This is the second week of school and the second week of the 1st six-weeks grading period.
This week’s ANNOUNCEMENTS . . .
The first week of school is now behind us. Students have learned the course expectations and are well into their mathematical groove. We’ll continue moving ahead this week learning new and exciting mathematical concepts and skills.
I would like to correct a date from the first-day letter. NBHS Open House will be Monday, September 13, 2010.
This week in the classroom . . .
In Precal, we are done with our first homework assignment and quiz. Homework will count as 10% of grades, Quizzes will be 30%, and Tests will make up the remaining 60%. This week we will continue learning the prerequisite skills in chapter P. The notes and worksheet (homework) are available online. Although the worksheet will not be due until the end of the week, students should work on it daily and ask questions about it as soon as they have them. We will test next week over chapter P.
In Cal AB, we will begin learning about the mathematical concept of the limit. This important idea forms the foundation for the two major calculus ideas we will study this year: differentiation and integration. All notes and worksheets are online. Worksheets and Quizzes combine to form 20% of the grade, while tests make up the remaining 80% (at least two tests per six weeks). Daily practice of skills and quick memorization of important terms, theorems, and prerequisite facts is essential for mathematical mastery. I expect students to be highly motivated and to seek out help as often as necessary. There are many resources available to help them be successful.
In Cal BC, we’re already moving quickly through our study of limits. We should finish this important chapter this week and test on it early next week. We will have a homework assignment (worksheet) due on average of three each week. All BC notes and worksheets are available online. Worksheets and quizzes make up 20% of the grade, and two tests worth 40% each will make up the remaining six weeks score. I’m available for tutorials each morning at roughly 7:30am.
This week on campus . . .
Monday, August 30
4:00 Student Council Meeting-NBHS Library
Tuesday, August 31
4:00 Tennis vs San Marcos-Home
5:00/6:00/7:15/7:00 Volleyball vs Smithson Valley (9th +/JV/V)-Away
Wednesday, September 1
Underclassmen Yearbook Pictures-All Day by English class-Auditorium
8:15 Math Club informational meeting, Room 903
4:00 NBHS Leo Club Meeting-Room 204
Thursday, September 2
Underclassmen Yearbook Pictures-All Day by English class-Auditorium
4:00-7:00 Choir Back-to-School Picnic-Landa Park
5:00 JV Blue Football vs Clemens-Away
5:00/6:30 Freshmen Football vs Clemens (w/b)-Home
Friday, September 3-PEP RALLY SCHEDULE
5:00/7:30 Volleyball vs Canyon/CC King-Home
7:30 Varsity Football vs Clemens (Spirit Group Night)-Home
Saturday, September 4
Cross Country Unicorn Invitational-Comal County Fairgrounds
This week on the Math Playground . . .
MATH
BIO:
Robert Boyle (1627 – 1691) was a natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, mathematician, and inventor, also noted for his writings in theology. Boyle was the first prominent scientist to perform controlled experiments and to publish his work with elaborate details concerning procedure, apparatus and observations. He assembled what we would today call a "research group", developed a key piece of apparatus - the vacuum pump, was instrumental in founding the Royal Society, and deserves at least partial credit for the famous gas law which bears his name. Although his research and personal philosophy clearly has its roots in the alchemical tradition, he is largely regarded today as the first modern chemist, and therefore one of the founders of modern chemistry. Among his works, The Sceptical Chymist is seen as a cornerstone book in the field of chemistry.
MATH FACT:
At sea level there is a pressure equivalent of about 33 feet of water pressing down on all of us all the time. This is because of the weight of the air above us in the atmosphere. When you travel up a mountain, there is less air above you in the atmosphere. This is because of Boyle’s Law.
The mathematical equation for Boyle’s law is:
Where P denotes the pressure of the system, V denotes the volume of the gas, and k is the constant of proportionality.
This equation demonstrates a classic reciprocal or inverse relation common in mathematics. As pressure decreases, volume increases.
For mountain climbers, the important effect of this decrease
in pressure is this: in a given volume of air, there are fewer molecules
present.
The percentage of those molecules that are oxygen is exactly the same: 21%. The problem is that there are fewer molecules of everything present, including oxygen.
At sea level, the standard barometric pressure is 101 kPa (760 mmHg). At the top of Mount Everest, at 29,028 ft, the standard barometric pressure is only 34 kPa (253 mmHg). This means that there is 33 % of the oxygen available at sea level.
Ed Viesturs (shown below) is an American professional mountain climber who has successfully summated (and descended!) all 14 of the world’s peaks over 26,000 feet has done them all without breathing supplemental oxygen. This is an amazing feat, as climbers refer to altitudes above 26,000 feet as the “Death Zone,” since at these altitudes, the amount of oxygen in the air cannot sustain human life. Guys like Ed Viesturs defy mathematical laws as well as mathematical probabilities
MATH QUOTE:
“If the omniscient author of nature knew that the study of his works tends to make men disbelieve his Being or Attributes, he would not have given them so many invitations to study and contemplate Nature.”—Robert Boyle
"There
are no shortcuts to the top.”--EdViesturs
LIMERICK:
Rich oxygen’s good for the brain
Without, you could go insane.
So you better beware,
‘cause there’s less in the air
The more elevation you gain.