2001 School Magazine

B ^ : mathematics

A World of Maths

it all adds up to Mathematics

Census at School

Popcorn Maths On Thursday 3 May our class, 9C, ate popcorn ... that is to say we "performed a mathematical experiment': The class was divided into groups and using A4 sheets of coloured cardboard, each group made four cylinders with different base areas. After completing this task, we put the cylinders inside each otheL largest diameter to the smallest We then filled the inside cylinder with freshly made popcorn, courtesy of Mrs Just When the cylinder was full, we removed the cardboard and let the popcorn spill into the next cylinder When the popcorn didn't fill this container, more was added until it was full. The process was repeated with each containe, and the results recorded. These results proved that as the diameter Increased, the volume also increased. But what was the most enjoyable part? Eating the popcorn!

Early in Term One Year 85 participated in a day of Maths activities that involved problem solving in a wide variety of contexts

Angela Leggett and Rachel Sanders of Mrs Cowen's Grade 8 Maths class were invited to the launch of Census At School on Thursday 10 May They drove by taxi to Belmont State School where Mr Mackenroth, the Treasurer, was launching the event Unfortunately Mr Mackenroth was unable to attend but the launch was still a big success. Census At School is an exciting Initiative to involve young people at school in gathering some simple Information about themselves such as their height, where they were born and how many people live in their house. This will then form part of a database for school children to use within a variety of subject areas in school The data will be collected using the Internet. Census At School has at least 70 schools involved in it

This has been an exciting year for Mathematics as we have taken on new challenges and experimented with new approaches to the teaching of the subject. CD roms, websites and e tests have become an integral part of the junior classroom with the introduction of a new set of textbooks and student resources Students have also been involved in a variety of competitions and real world activities that have broadened their horizons and stretched their imaginations

From the studentperspective

"I thought the World of Maths activity was interesting and fun. I especially liked the very challenging activity involving the blocks. . it took us about ten attempts to get it right! Overall I think it was a fun and worthwhile day, and I really liked being able to interact with other maths classes!" " really enjoyed World of Maths because there were lots of maths problems to solve and lots of lateral thinking to do I think we should have more time to do World of Maths because all the activities looked really good to do I recommend this activity to all Year 8 students next yearl" Mincho Gone

and our schools involvement is through the Year 85 and Year 95

A thanks must go to Mrs Cowen and it was an enjoyable and wonderful day

110uise W, 19hO

By Roche!SondersondAngelo Legge!t

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