Fractions Packet

1.) So that you do not have homework over the holiday, please complete the fractions packet for tomorrow.

2.) Bring a cartoon or comic. We will use them in class on Thursday.

3.) Bring your stretching and shrinking book. These must be returned before the holidays.

4.) Turn in your credit card project. The project is worth 30 points and if you do not turn it in, it is a 0 out of 30.

Holiday Extra Credit

Holiday Extra Credit Opportunity

Here’s your chance to get some extra credit (up to 4% of your grade) over the holiday break. Pick one of the following books and read the entire book. Then, write a book report, explaining in detail each of the math concepts described. Provide examples whenever you can. Remember QUALITY is more important than QUANTITY, but your book report should be at least 2 pages so that you can cover the parts. See rubric for details.

Due: Tuesday January 8, 2008.


1.) The Number Devil, by Hans Magnus Enzenberger
One of my personal favorites. You will learn about many interesting mathematical concepts in this easy-to-read, comical dream world.

2.) The Man Who Counted: A Collection of Mathematical Adventures, by Malba Tahan, Patricia Reid Baquero
A beautifully written set of mathematical and philosophical adventures, sited by many as the book that turned them on to math.

3.) Flatland, by Edwin Abbott
A delightful classic written a long time ago which explores dimensionality: l-D, 2-D, 3-D, 4-D. It also has some outdated social commentary. Great if you like stretching your brain to think about really weird ideas. There are a large number of take-offs on Flatland, including Sphereland, Flatterland, and The Planiverse by various authors.

4.) The Boy Who Reversed Himself, by William Sleator
A novel (for kids) about worlds in 4 and more dimensions.

5.) In Code: A Mathematical Journey, by Sarah Flannery with David Flannery
An engaging autobiography about a young woman’s breakthrough discoveries in cryptography.

Study Study Study

1. Study for Stretching and Shrinking Unit Test!

2. Bring missing hw slip signed by a parent.

3. Bring a cartoon or comic for Thursday

Finding Heights Using Shadows

Forgot to post yesterday. Here is the assignment that was due today:

Level 1: page 57 #24-28
OR
Level 2: pages 56-57 #23-28

Homework due TUESDAY:
Level 1: pages 64-65 #1-4
OR
Level 2: pages 64-66 #2, 3, 7, 13

Credit Card Project due Tuesday

Stretching and Shrinking Test on Wednesday

Map Scales

1.) Finish problem 4.4, page 46 (complete C and D) Due Thurs.

2.) You have to complete one of the following:

Level 1: #10-14 Pages 51-53 Due Thurs.

Level 2: #12-14 AND #21-22 Pages 51-55 Due Thurs.

3.) POW due Friday

This week's POW options

Here are this week's POW options. Choose 1. Due Friday.

POW – due December 14

Option 1. When I was going to St Ives I met a man with seven wives. Each wife had seven sacks and each sack had seven cats. How many legs were there in the group of people and cats that I encountered on my trip to St. Ives? Assume that no one in the group is missing any limbs.

Option 2: When Cinderella’s fairy godmother sent her off to the ball to meet the prince, she had one stipulation: Cinderella had to leave by the stroke of midnight. By the time Cinderella got to the castle, moved through the crowd and met the prince, it was 10:30pm when she finally had her first dance with the prince. If each song lasted 3.5 minutes and they danced the rest of the evening, except for a 20-minute walk they took outside, how many songs did they dance to between 10:30pm and midnight?

Option 3: When the students in Harry Potter’s Spells class at Hogwarts started the year, they knew an average of 10 spells each. Hermione knew the most, 19, and Ron knew the least, 7. If Harry knew 12 spells, what was the average number of spells that each of Hermione, Ron and Harry’s 21 classmates knew at the start of the year? Express your answer as a decimal to the nearest hundredth.

Spend Spend Spend

Due Tuesday:

1. Credit Card Project - Spend, Spend, Spend - Part II

2. Next three pages on percents in packet

If you have any questions about either of these items, Monday would be a good day to seek me out to ask. That way, you can have everything completed for Tuesday (our next class).

Scaling Up

Two levels:

Option 1 (easier) - Starts page 47; #1-4, #6, #15-19

Option 2 (more of a challenge) Starts page 48; #4-9, #15-20

Due Thursday

Using math to solve mysteries!

Due Wednesday:

1.) 4.1 page 42 - Answer all of the questions in your math notebook.

2.) Complete the quiz, which is now a homework assignment.

3.) Start credit card project. (Part 1 is due Friday)