Weekly Questions

Your weekly questions will be posted here as they are presented in class.

January 26:  We see numbers in news all the time.  These numbers convey meaning and context.  Find an example of numbers in a report of some kind and discuss the process of interpreting those numbers.  This should parallel our interpretative discussions regarding the causes for the numbers in activity 7.2.

February 2:  Discuss similarities and differences of the three different averages:  mean, median and mode.  Include examples where each would be considered "the average". 

February 9:  Explain the difference between experiemental and theoretical probability.  Include examples.

February 16:  In our beginning work with geometry you probably have noticed that one major challenge in discussing geometry is the need of a large vocabulary.  Write definitions in your own words for any important terms that we have used so far in geometry.  (This question, unlike the others, will continue to develop as the semester continues.  Start based on what we have done in the first week, then add to it as the semester unfolds.  When you hand it in the first time, it should include all the important terms up to that point, and when it becomes part of your final project, it should be a comprehensive vocabulary guide for all of geometry.  This will be a major component of  your final project.)

February 23:  Describe a systematic procedure for seeking different shapes and geometric objects found inside a figure.   Discuss how this procedure can be applied to the world in which we live.  Comment on how personal variation still plays a role.

March 2:  Discuss sums of angles for polygons.  Include justification not merely results. 

March 9:  What sets of three angle/side measurements of a triangle ensure congruence?  Which sets of three measurements do not ensure  congruence?  Show why your statements are true.  What can you say about information necessary to determine congruent quadrilaterals?

March 23:  Give life experience examples that are reminiscent of the  following transformations:  translations, rotations, and reflections.  Explain how each experience has the properties of  the given transformation.

March 30:  Discuss the possible effects of two succesive reflections.  Include parallel lines, perpendicular lines, and other intersecting lines. 

April 6:  Discuss what you have learned about tessellations. 

April 13:  No question this week.  Exam today.

April 20:  Explain and justify area formulas for parallelograms, triangles, trapezoids, and circles.