Expectations
TAG students in the area of mathematics will be expected to complete the
Extension problems found at the close of each Investigation. They will be able
to substitute this work for one of the homework assignments due for the same
unit. The Extension problems tend to require higher order thinking skills and
are a bit more challenging than some of the assigned homework. At times,
Extension problems will be assigned to all students.
Extension Problems for " Moving Straight Ahead"
For. Inv. 1: Probs. 31-33 (pg. 22)
For. Inv. 2: Probs. 42-44 (pg. 44)
For. Inv. 3: Probs. 42-44; 46 ( pgs. 67-68)
For Inv. 4: Probs. 46-47 (pg. 88)
Books of interest
For the mathematically inclined here are several books that may pique their
interest beyond what we will cover in the classroom this year. Most of these
books can be checked out through the public library, purchased at a local
bookstore or in some cases even loaned out by me (for I own many of them...but
be fair warned, your grade may depend on their prompt return!!).
Proofiness, Charles Seife
How numbers are used to manipulate and decieve us. Highly recommended.
The Man Who Loved Only Numbers, Paul Hoffman
Biography of a very unusual mathematician.
Flatland, Edwin Abbott
A classic in two dimensions.
A Beautiful Mind, Sylvia Nasar
Made into a movie your parents may have seen.
Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, Douglas Hofstadter
An interesting look at the connections between art and genius in three
individuals.
For those whose interests veer towards science here are some books to whet
your appetite for more serious study (like next year in Mr. Gibson's class!).
The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Keen
subtitled: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World
from The Periodic Table of the Elements
Humorous, enlightening and Highly Recommended.
Four Fish, Paul Greenberg
Highly interesting study of the four most prominent fish in the human diet and
their rapid decline in the wild (including our very own salmon).
Physics of the Impossible, Michio Kaku
Phasers, force fields, time travel...is any of this really possible??
The Ghost Map, Steven Johnson
How a terrifying epidemic changed science, cities and the modern world.
A Crack in the Edge of the World/ Krakatoa, two separate books by Simon
Winchester
A great nonfiction writer writing about the San Francisco earthquake of 1906
and one of the world's great recent volcanic eruptions.
Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond
A very interesting take on how human societies have evolved.