Monday, April 25, 2011

Parabola!


"If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Isaac Newton

This week is the culmination of the "truism" unit, a cross-curricular learning experience that branches between science, English, social studies, math, and art. The truism that we have focused on, written above, reflects one great mind in history acknowledging that he was only able to do the things he did due to the work of people that came before him. I imagine that as you write your hero essays you are also discovering that those people were highly influenced by people that came before them.

Beth and I have been talking to you in class about the mathematical concept known as the parabola, which is a geometric shape. Parabolas are pretty simple things when you look at them on a piece of paper, as when we graphed the swing of the pendulum. However, parabolas can also lead to amazing inventions (like the massive radio dish in the picture above) and when you look for them you can find them all around you, occurring naturally in the world.

The video below was the inspiration behind the lab we did and it also shows examples of parabolas in nature.


BlogWork

1. Go to the following website about solar cookers: Solar Cookers

2. On a piece of paper (to be turned in) design your own solar cooker.

3. List 5-10 parabolas that you noticed today (post these on the blog).


19 comments:

Roxas1114 said...

Parabolas in my day to day life.

1. My cereal bowl in the morning
2. Smiles
3. The inside of a flashlight
4. The path of a pendulum
5. A parenthese
6. Some dams
7.the letter U

ikc said...

hoover dam
A bowl
a flashlight
book holder
water fountain

Thing One! said...

1.) Bathroom sink
2.) Top of the blender
3.) My light
4.) Ballon
5.) Toilet. haha
6.) Trash cans
7.) Peoples heads
8.) Table
9.) Bag

thing One! said...

10.) Satellite dish

el muchos said...

Any type of bowl
A handbag strap
A book stand
The interior of a fondue cooker
A belt manipulated to look like a parabola
An archway

L said...

1. A computer mouse from the side or the back.
2. The angle of our knee
3. Bings logo
4. Curve of Windows flag
5. The angle of a drawn curtain
6. Slope of shoulders
7. A relaxed hand
8. Grove in your foot

PLATYPUS said...

1. The top of my head
2. This creepy Russian doll that some Russian professor gave to my dad as a present
3. My cat stretching
4. A roof of a building
5. A picture of a roller coaster
6. Eyebrows
7. Some people's earlobes
8. The full skirt of this Disney Princess dress I saw at the mall
9. Lucy's snout
10. The upward curve of a tree

Thing Two :) said...

1. the tip of the pen.
2. flower pot.
3. the thing that goes over the light that goes on the ceiling.
4.backpack
5. some bridges
6.the front and back of a skateboard

secretroomintheatticyea said...

1 The Gateway Arch in St. Louis (my friend who lives in St. Louis sent me a picture of him at the arch)
2 my dad's favorite popcorn bowl
3 my pen cap (sorta)
4 a light bulb
5 a wooden spoon bowl
6 my little toe
7 the eye of horus on house of anubis
8 the mouse on my computer
9 my neighbors weird vase that she displayed i the window

1sweet1 said...

1. Your smile
2. a cap lens
3. a flashlight
4. a lamp
5. a half a water bottle
6. a water drain
7. a satellite

danceMAGICdance said...

1. The satellite dish by my chimney that has no use anymore
2. The mixing bowl I put on my head
3. The lights on my dad's car
4. A spoon
5. The reflective part of a flashlight
6. An umbrella that I can't close because it's hard to close
7. Floodlights

penguinlogicrocks said...

Hose water held in the air
Lamp light on walls
Wilting flowers
The letter u
My dog when it spreads it legs apart (front and back legs apart)
Eyebrows
Archways in my house
Tree branches
Friend’s smiles
A rainbow

HurricaneSmokey said...

1. Where i live a valley
2. McDonald's sign
3. My cereal bowl
4. Arched bridges
5. A flashlight
6. skateboard ramps
7. The path of a basketball as it is being thrown
8. A satellite
9. The Elfie tower's arch

Bobby said...

1. A old satellite dish
2. A picture of a radio dish
3. Cereal bowl
4. The McDonald's logo ( There are two parabola's next to each other)
5. The Gateway Arch

REO said...

a bowl
door nob
people heads
my flip flop
letters c and u
smoke detector in the medioa center
flood light
apple sign
peoples backs
light blub

Cookie who wants an A said...

1) The back of a saddle
2) A bathtub
3) The front of a beach bike
4) My headphones when they are in my ears
5) Headband
6) Dumbledore's Half moon glasses
7) RIding spurs

AL said...

1. chin
2. mugs
3. half a bagel
4. toilet bowl
5. heel

ikcain said...

a rain drop
hoover dam
a bowl
a flashlight
book holder
water fountain
sink

Kujo93 said...

1. 1/2 McDonalds sign
2. Jaw bone
3. cat/dog ears
4. Hammock w/ a bowling ball in it
5. MY pinky toe
6. 1/2 a red blood cell



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