Algebra 2/Trig Project

Functions and Trigonometry Project

For this project you will read, write and present! Choose a topic of your choice; some suggestions are below, but you need not choose from the list below. 1. Write a paper on your findings. There is no page guideline, as content is more important than page count. The paper must be typed, but you may write equations and draw figures by hand. It’s important to justify what you write and explain any new terms you introduce. Don’t copy or write something you don’t understand. Naturally, you may bring something in you don’t understand and Mr. W-R will go over it with you before or as you write your paper. 2. Include a list of sources you used, cited in APA, Chicago, or MLA format. Some sources for how to do this appear below, and we will go to the library for a tutorial on citing sources. You will read and use at least one book source. 3. Give a presentation (about five to ten minutes) to the class on your topic. Give us a short lesson summarizing what you did and what you what you learned. Since you will not be able to teach us everything you learned in this time, you may give us a broad outline of your topic or you may go into one or two parts of your topic in detail.

Some suggested topics:

1. Linear History! We discussed Euclid’s geometric work on lines in his Elements, as well as Descartes’s algebraic reframing of lines in his The Geometry. Read one of these works and learn a method, theorem, or topic from the perspective of one of these mathematicians, or compare and contrast the two approaches.

2. The Federalist Papers! We applied some of our work exploring data to try to determine who wrote disputed Federalist Papers. Investigate this approach and the work of Mosteller and Wallace, who pioneered a quantitative approach to authorship.

3. A data-driven examination to answer the question: Who wrote Shakespeare’s plays? Another famous question that can be analyzed in the same way that we analyzed The Federalist Papers is: Who wrote Shakespeare’s plays?

4. Applying data to your own question. Ask your own question. Collect or find data. Analyze the data. Make a conclusion, supported by your data.

5. Read a book on mathematics and write about its content.

6. Choose a mathematics topic you’re interested in and read and learn about it.

7. Ask and explore your own mathematical question.

8. Prime Numbers. There have been several recent discoveries about the prime numbers, which seem like such a simple and fundamental topic but which remain the source of many open questions in mathematics. Learn more about these or less recent discoveries. I have several resources and have even written up a little paper on this topic, though for a Calculus class. There should be some information, though, that you can use.

9. Mathematical Modeling with Linear or non-Linear Functions. We have modeled earthquakes, temperature scales, and absolute zero using linear functions. Not all of life is linear, though. As the course progresses we will learn about more functions. Investigate a topic, question, or phenomenon and model it using several different mathematical models. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each model? What can you conclude about your topic, phenomenon, or question through mathematical modeling?

Tentative deadlines:

Tuesday, October 13: Turn in to Mr. W-R your thoughts about a topic or investigation. Include any ideas you have about the topic and any places you think you’ll need help. Tuesday, October 27: Turn in one page on: what your topic is, what you have done on it, what you plan to do next, and where you need help. Include any source or sources that you may have consulted. Thursday, November 19: Your first draft is due. There is no page limit at this time because content is more important than page count. You will receive feedback as to how substantial your work is and will receive suggestions to increase or decrease the page count, depending on your work, organization, and the logic of your paper. Friday, December 11: Your revised draft is due. You must incorporate feedback from the previous draft and show evidence of new learning since the first draft. Week of December 14-18: Presentations are scheduled for this week. Tuesday, December 22: Your final draft, including sources, is due.

In the past I have asked students to use one of the following: APA Citation Site: http://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch/citmanage/apa Chicago Citation Site: http://citesource.trincoll.edu/chicago/ However, we will go to the library and learn about other resources for citing sources.

Grading: You will be graded on the following: You demonstrate evidence of learning some new mathematics; you show understanding of your topic; your topic is at an appropriate level and relevant, and perhaps even creative, original, or tied to your interests; you explain why, not just stating conclusions or formulas but giving some justification or motivation for them; your paper is edited, includes sources (including at least one book source), is structured, well-argued, and written using formal writing conventions; my general impression of your paper as a whole.