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Tag Archives: Math
Math Modeling: Using Math for Flight Path Safety
By Kate Sotir, Cooper Sarafin, Anderson Fan, Shep Green, VI Form and Mo Liu, V Form
Math Modeling: Using Math for Flight Path Safety
Part 1:
The problem at hand is to create a model, a rating system, that would inform potential flyers of the safety of a particular flight. Our solution includes a mathematical equation that gives us a number between 1 and 100, depending on the inputs. Although the values themselves indicate the safety level of flights, we do not want to our audience to read into the numbers: a flight with a safety index of 63 should not be considered a more dangerous flight than a flight with a safety index of 67. Therefore, to make our model directly presentable to our audience, we classified the possible outcomes into ratings. A safety index ranges from 1 to 20 would have a rating of ★, from 20 to 40 would have ★★, 40 to 60 would be ★★★, 60 to 80 ★★★★, and finally, 80 to 100 would have the highest rating of ★★★★★, and flights that fall under this rating would be the safest choice based on our model. (more…)
Competing in the FIRST Robotics Challenge
By Kate Sotir, VI Form
Competing in the FIRST Robotics Challenge
Working in the basement level of the STEM building, using lots of power tools, and occasionally throwing out words like “kickoff,” “drivetrain,” or “STEAMworks,” we are FIRST team 3566, also known as Gone Fishin’.
Gone Fishin’ competes in the FIRST Robotics Competition. FIRST stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.” The robotics competition, open to any high school student, was created in order to promote the STEM fields and offer a competitive yet collaborative atmosphere for robotics. In the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), teams are given a challenge, in the form of a game, and then have six weeks to build a 120 pound, $10,000 robot to meet this challenge. After those six weeks are up, teams compete in various regional events. The ultimate goal is to go to the world championship, held in St. Louis, where around 800 teams gather to play the game. (more…)
Best Cities to Work and Live
By Nathan Cunningham, Ryan Ferland, and Freddy Masri, VI Form
Best Cities to Work and Live
Summary
We were tasked with creating a ranking function on a subject of our choice. We decided that our equation would rank US cities and would output an index indicating the best cities to work and live in. Our ranking is only intended for cities within the United States and does not include surrounding suburbs. The equation takes into account annual salary, annual cost of living, unemployment rate, and poverty rate giving an index anywhere from 0 up to several hundred. The higher the index, the better the city. (more…)
Math Modeling: Improved System for Ranking Colleges
By Steven Li & Gabriel Xu, V Form and Finn Reams & Thee Ngamsangrat, VI Form
Math Modeling: Improved System for Ranking Colleges
Summary
Our task was to rank undergraduate colleges based on major elements that were most important to us. To solve the problem at hand, we first came up with six general elements of a college that held significance and found specific variables that would quantify each element. After putting all the variables into a ranking function, we adjusted the weights put on each category in correspondence with the importance we believed they contributed. We applied our model to both normal and extreme cases for testing, and we drew a 3D graph that showed the relationship between the final result with two of the variables as well. (more…)
Outcomes in Team Based Learning in Algebra II
By Mr. Scott Dolesh, Mathematics Faculty
Outcomes in Team Based Learning in Algebra II
My project compares the outcomes of students in Team Based Learning (TBL) Algebra II courses versus students in traditional teacher directed Algebra II courses. I had one Algebra II course that I used the TBL approach, and I had one Algebra II course that I used a traditional teacher directed approach. I also had a colleague who had two Algebra II courses that she taught using the TBL approach, and another colleague who had one Algebra II course that she taught using a traditional teacher directed approach. I compared the outcomes on our two common assessments that we give in Algebra 2: the first being the midterm exam and the second being the final exam. (more…)
The Power of Grants in Student Development
By Camille Banson, VI Form and Ryan Lee, VI Form
Editor’s Note: The Matthews Educational Fund provides grants to students of any form who are good citizens and solid students. Grants are made for special needs such as tutoring assistance, special instruction, seminars, academic experiences of a national or international nature, and personal growth and advancement opportunities. Awards are based on merit and need as determined by a faculty committee. Last year, Camille Banson and Ryan Lee received the Matthews Fund Award to pursue their educational endeavor. Here is an overview of their experience.
Camille Banson:
Over the summer, I participated in a Boston University Summer Program. It ran for two weeks (more…)
A Math Enthusiast
By Ryan Lee, VI Form
This past summer, I made a set of business cards in preparation for the International Congress of Mathematicians convention, where I hoped to meet world-renowned mathematicians. My card reads “Seung Jae “Ryan” Lee, Math Enthusiast.” The night before the opening ceremony, I couldn’t sleep. I was too excited about the prospect of sitting in actual lectures given by the scholars whom I had only read about and to witness this year’s Fields Medal Award Ceremony in person. I am not exaggerating when I claim to be a math enthusiast. I call myself a math enthusiast (though my friends find my choice of words rather amusing) because no other title better encapsulates my passion for mathematics. I was not always like this (more…)
Why STEM? It Is All About Problems!
By Karen Bryant, Mathematics Faculty
I was in the Reagan National Airport waiting to fly home after an exciting and intense week at the Siemens STEM Institute. Wondering why my plane was not boarding when it was leaving in less than thirty minutes, I wandered over to the windows overlooking the tarmac. There was a person standing on the back of the small vehicle used to push the plane out of the gate looking up into an opening in the plane’s nose. There were approximately twenty people standing around watching, including people in business suits, people who looked like EMTs, and the grounds crew. I stood and watched for the next several minutes and also listened to the chatter of people around me. Soon, most of the people outside left except for a few who were gesturing as they tried to figure out how to get the vehicle out from under the plane. From listening to those around me, I discovered that somehow the small truck had gone out of control and driven under the nose of the plane and was entangled in the hose that was (more…)
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