Halloween Math: Witches vs Zombies 2

 

Halloween Math : Witches vs Zombies 1

There has been a real world Witches Vs Zombie Fight.

The witches of the Haunted House in Salem, Massachusetts, are at war with the Zombies of The Nightmare Factory nearby. A witch tripped a Zombie who was wearing a straight jacket!!!! And … read it for yourself in the Daily Mail, UK.

Links: Top Grossing Horror Movies

Blair Witch Project Budget here.

Real World Maths: Surds and all that jazz …

Eddie Woo is an Aussie Maths teacher who runs his own Youtube Channel. So popular is this channel in October 2015, Woo won the NSW Premier’s Prize for Innovation in Science and Mathematics. This youtube clip won’t tell you where you will use surds, but it does something magical.

It compares surds to different kinds of music to help students understand why mathematicians go crazy over the concept of surds. This clip tells why maths is soooooo special. There is no guesswork or fake information in this maths. Maths must be accurate. And surds demonstrate this point. (Look for the 5 min mark)

Will you use surds in real life?

Maybe. Probably, not. But surds are used in mathematical programs that demand accuracy. eg. engineering skyscrapers, building satellite dishes, and even in video games. But you won’t see them. Like so much mathematics surds will be hidden in some algorithm.

Here are two Examples:

1. The Golden Ratio:

Often written a 1:1.61 the Golden Ratio or Fibonacci Sequence appears in art and nature and has an aesthetic appeal to the eye, but the accurate ratio is:

2. The Quadratic Function

Satellite dishes, headlights, torches, and bridges all designed using the parabolic arc. The parabola is defined by the quadratic function and sometimes solving for x produces an irrational no. namely a surd. Rounding off can introduce inaccuracies that can become more dramatic when scaled up to the sie of, say, a bridge. 

3. The Golden Ratio in Music

Mozart arranged his piano sonatas so that the number of bars in the development and recapitulation divided by the number of bars in the exposition would equal approximately 1.618, the Golden Ratio. Find more @ CLASSIC FM.

Back to Mozart.

In the above diagram, C is the sonata’s first movement as a whole, B is the development and recapitulation, and A is the exposition.

And here is Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 1 in C Major as an example. Can you hear the Golden Ratio. Not really. But it’s there.

DART vs ASTEROID: Middle School Math

DART is a test

of NASA’s planetary defence plans.

AND IF YOU GOOGLE ……..

 DOUBLE ASTEROID REDIRECTION TEST

                                       Guess what?

The DART(Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission was launched on Nov. 23, 2021, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

It is the size of a small vending machine and it has been travelling through space for 10 months.

MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH: Mapping, Matrices and GAME DEVELOPMENT

The aim of this post is to show middle school math students that MATRICES are used in the REAL WORLD of GAME DEVELOPMENT.

They don’t have to do the math. 

To have some fun playing with a 2D to 2D transformations go to this MathIsFun post.

No Frills MATHs SKILLS for Parents 2 : Algebra

Death by Caffeine: The Math Part 2 USA units

Death by Caffeine: The Math  Part 2 Metric Units HERE.

Caffeine content sources Caffeine Content Data Base

On April 12 2017 16-year-old Davis Cripe collapsed at school in South Carolina and died later in hospital.  In the span of two hours, Davis drank a cafe latte from McDonald’s and a large Mountain Dew, then “chugged” a 16-ounce energy drink when he got back to art class.

Here, assuming Davis drank large sized drinks, is the lethal caffeine consumption.

NOTE: Davis lived in the USA where standard drink volumes are slightly different to Australia & UK. The USA volumes are used here converted to litre and ml.

The official cause of death was “caffeine-induced cardiac event causing a probable arrhythmia,” the coroner concluded. Source: Washington Post

Caffeine can kill.

WARNING: “Mixing caffeine with alcohol is a dangerous practice because it may lead to higher levels of alcohol consumption as the person often believes and feels they are more alert,” said Dr Robert Glatter, ER doctor at Lenox Hill Hospital, NYC . “The risk of alcohol poisoning increases as people consume more alcohol because they feel the caffeine will keep them awake and alert.” Source: USA Today

Death by Caffeine: The Maths Part 2 METRIC

Death by Caffeine: The Math  Part 2 USA UNITS HERE.

Caffeine content sources Caffeine Content Data Base

On April 12 2017 16-year-old Davis Cripe collapsed at school in South Carolina and died later in hospital.  In the span of two hours, Davis drank a cafe latte from McDonald’s and a large Mountain Dew, then “chugged” a 16-ounce energy drink when he got back to art class.

Here, assuming Davis drank large sized drinks, is the lethal caffeine consumption.

NOTE: Davis lived in the USA where standard drink volumes are slightly different to Australia & UK. The USA volumes are used here converted to litre and ml.

The official cause of death was “caffeine-induced cardiac event causing a probable arrhythmia,” the coroner concluded. Source: Washington Post

Caffeine can kill.

WARNING: “Mixing caffeine with alcohol is a dangerous practice because it may lead to higher levels of alcohol consumption as the person often believes and feels they are more alert,” said Dr Robert Glatter, ER doctor at Lenox Hill Hospital, NYC . “The risk of alcohol poisoning increases as people consume more alcohol because they feel the caffeine will keep them awake and alert.” Source: USA Today

Maths in the Real World: 10 Attention Grabbers for Middle School

1. Smoke Jumpers: The Amazing Maths of wildfires

 

USA UNITS HERE

 

METRIC UNITS HERE

 

2. The Rolling Coin Paradox!!

ROLLING COIN PARADOX HERE

 

3. How barcodes work!

Barcode MATHS HERE

 

4. Pop Song Beats and Jogging

 

Pop Song Beats and Jogging MATHS HERE

 

5. Linear Math and Linear Drumming. It’s a thing!

 

Linear Math and Linear Drumming. HERE

 

6. Powers and the Loudest Rock Band in the World

Powers and the Loudest Rock Band MATHS HERE

 

7. Alcohol Kills! Calculate how much would kill you!

Alcohol Kills! MATHS HERE

 

8. Tall Tales: Is height the most important factor in sport?

Height in Sport maths: USA UNITS HERE

Height in Sport maths: METRIC UNITS HERE

 

9. Mmmmm! Chocolate. Yes! It can kill  you

Chocolate. Yes! It can kill  you MATHS HERE

 

10. Random Music? You think!

 

Random Music?MATHS HERE

Tennis Math: Is player height a BIG advantage? USA units

Metric version here.

The Australian Open is on at the moment in Melbourne in LOCKDOWN. (We have 1 community-acquired case. Tennis players are in a bubble.)

Is height a BIG advantage in tennis?

Here are the heights of 3 top seeds in the Australian  Open. (See graph below)

No. 1 Novak Djokovic    6ft 1″  (73 in)

No. 6 Alexander Zverev  6ft 6’   (78 in)

No. 8 Diego Schwartzman  5ft 7’  (67 in)

1. Does serve speed increase with height?

That would be an advantage. Here is a Height vs Serve Speed chart for the Top 6 seeds in the tournament:

Find serve speed data here.

There is NO CLEAR HEIGHT ADVANTAGE for serve speed.

2. Does the serve return rate increase with height?

Here is Diego Schwartzman (L) when he defeated Alexander Zverev (R ) in the 2019 US Open.

What is Schwartzman’s Super Power?

Schwartzman, the shortest player on the circuit (see graph above), tops the service returns stats. Highest 2nd serve return rate. Third highest 1st serve return rate. See data below. So agility, speed, and reaction times are also important factors in becoming a tennis star.

Go Schwartzee! Check data here.