Square foot gardening is one way that ensures a vegetable garden bed can thrive. It is used to ensure not too many plants of a specific variety are planted in a single area. Using the square foot model keeps plants properly spaced, providing a perfect real-world context to teach area, apply multiplication strategies and have students work collaboratively. Most garden beds are 8 x 4 resulting in 32 square feet to work with. It is possible however to have beds of different sizes. While 32 square feet to work with is what is used in this lesson, the methods and chart can be used for any rectangular planting area.

An interactive applet and associated web page that demonstrate the area of a circle. A circle is shown with a point on the circumference that can be dragged to resize the circle. As the circle is resized, the radius and the area computation is shown changing in real time. The radius and formula can be hidden for class discussion. Applet can be enlarged to full screen size for use with a classroom projector. This resource is a component of the Math Open Reference Interactive Geometry textbook project at http://www.mathopenref.com.

An interactive applet and associated web page that demonstrate the area of an ellipse. The major and minor axes can be dragged and the area is continuously recalculated. The ellipse has a grid inside it so that students can estimate the area and compare the result to the calculated one. The web page has the formula for the area calculation. The web page also has links to other pages defining the various properties of an ellipse and to some ellipse constructions. Applet can be enlarged to full screen size for use with a classroom projector. This resource is a component of the Math Open Reference Interactive Geometry textbook project at http://www.mathopenref.com.

This short video and interactive assessment activity is designed to teach third graders about area in grid.

Overview: Math in Real Life (MiRL) supports the expansion of regional networks to create an environment of innovation in math teaching and learning.  The focus on applied mathematics supports the natural interconnectedness of math to other disciplines while infusing relevance for students.  MiRL supports a limited number of networked math learning communities that focus on developing and testing applied problems in mathematics.  The networks help math teachers refine innovative teaching strategies with the guidance of regional partners and the Oregon Department of Education.

This short video and interactive assessment activity is designed to give fourth graders an overview of area and perimeter of rectangle.

An interactive applet and associated web page that deals with the area of a kite, (a quadrilateral with two distinct pairs of equal adjacent sides). The applet shows a kite and the user can reshape it by dragging any vertex. The other vertices move automatically to ensure it always remains a kite. As the vertices are dragged, the area is continuously recalculated and displayed. The kite is filled with a grid of unit squares so that the students can estimate the area. The on-screen calculation can be hidden until the estimates are done. The web page lists two different ways to compute the area of a kite. Applet can be enlarged to full screen size for use with a classroom projector. This resource is a component of the Math Open Reference Interactive Geometry textbook project at http://www.mathopenref.com.

A web page and interactive applet showing the ways to calculate the area of a parallelogram. The user can drag the vertices of the parallelogram and the other points change automatically to ensure it remains a parallelogram. A grid inside the shape allows students to estimate the area visually, then check against the actual computed area, which is continuously recomputed and displayed. The text on the page gives three different ways to calculate the area with a formula for each. The applet uses one of the methods to compute the area in real time, so it changes as the rhombus is reshaped with the mouse. A companion page is http://www.mathopenref.com/parallelogram.html showing the definition and properties of a parallelogram Applet can be enlarged to full screen size for use with a classroom projector. This resource is a component of the Math Open Reference Interactive Geometry textbook project at http://www.mathopenref.com.

A web page and interactive applet showing the ways to calculate the area of a rectangle. The user can drag the vertices of the rectangle and the other points change automatically to ensure it remains a rectangle. A grid inside the shape allows students to estimate the area visually, then check against the actual computed area. The text on the page gives three different ways to calculate the area with a formula for each. The applet uses one of the methods to compute the area in real time, so it changes as the rectangle is reshaped with the mouse. A companion page is http://www.mathopenref.com/rectangle.html showing the definition and properties of a rectangle Applet can be enlarged to full screen size for use with a classroom projector. This resource is a component of the Math Open Reference Interactive Geometry textbook project at http://www.mathopenref.com.

An interactive applet and associated web page that demonstrate the area of a square. The applet shows a square with all vertices draggable. As you drag any one, the area id continuously calculated and shown on the applet. The square is filled with a unit grid to allow class estimation of area. The displayed calculation can be turned off. Applet can be enlarged to full screen size for use with a classroom projector. This resource is a component of the Math Open Reference Interactive Geometry textbook project at http://www.mathopenref.com.

A web page and interactive applet showing the ways to calculate the area of a trapezoid. The user can drag the vertices of the trapezoid and the other points change automatically to ensure it remains a trapezoid. A grid inside the shape allows students to estimate the area visually, then check against the actual computed area. The text on the page gives three different ways to calculate the area with a formula for each. The applet uses one of the methods to compute the area in real time, so it changes as the trapezoid is reshaped with the mouse. A companion page is http://www.mathopenref.com/trapezoid.html showing the definition and properties of a trapezoid. Applet can be enlarged to full screen size for use with a classroom projector. This resource is a component of the Math Open Reference Interactive Geometry textbook project at http://www.mathopenref.com.

An interactive applet and associated web page that calculate the area of a triangle using the formula method in coordinate geometry. The applet has a triangle with draggable vertices. As you drag them the triangle's area is recalculated from the vertex coordinates using the formula. The grid and coordinates can be turned on and off. The area calculation can be turned off to permit class exercises and then turned back on the verify the answers. The applet can be printed as it appears on the screen to make handouts. The web page has a full description of the method for determining area using the formula method, a worked example and has links to other pages relating to coordinate geometry. Applet can be enlarged to full screen size for use with a classroom projector. This resource is a component of the Math Open Reference Interactive Geometry textbook project at http://www.mathopenref.com.

An interactive applet and associated web page that explain the area of a triangle. The applet shows a triangle that can be reshaped by dragging any vertex. As it changes, the area is continually recalculated using the 'half base times height' method. The triangle has a fixed square grid in its interior that can be used to visually estimate the area for later correlation with the calculated value. The calculation can be hidden while estimation is in progress. The text page has links to a similar page that uses Heron's Formula to compute the area. Applet can be enlarged to full screen size for use with a classroom projector. This resource is a component of the Math Open Reference Interactive Geometry textbook project at http://www.mathopenref.com.

An interactive applet and associated web page that calculate the area of a triangle using the box method in coordinate geometry. The applet has a triangle with draggable vertices. As you drag them the triangle's bounding box is shown and the area recalculated by subtracting the areas of the outside triangles. The grid and coordinates can be turned on and off. The area calculation can be turned off to permit class exercises and then turned back on the verify the answers. The applet can be printed as it appears on the screen to make handouts. The web page has a full description of the method for determining area using the box method, a worked example and has links to other pages relating to coordinate geometry. Applet can be enlarged to full screen size for use with a classroom projector. This resource is a component of the Math Open Reference Interactive Geometry textbook project at http://www.mathopenref.com.

This problem is part of a very rich tradition of problems looking to maximize the area enclosed by a shape with fixed perimeter. Only three shapes are considered here because the problem is difficult for more irregular shapes.

This is a Tug of War activity to spur the conversation about the controversy of the potential danger of cell phone usage. Prior to this, the students would have learned about the structure and energy of electromagnetic radiation.

In this study, we examined participants' choice behavior in a sequential risk-taking task. We were especially interested in the extent to which participants focus on the immediate next choice or consider the entire choice sequence. To do so, we inspected whether decisions were either based on conditional probabilities (e.g., being successful on the immediate next trial) or on conjunctive probabilities (of being successful several times in a row). The results of five experiments with a simplified nine-card Columbia Card Task and a CPT-model analysis show that participants' choice behavior can be described best by a mixture of the two probability types. Specifically, for their first choice, the participants relied on conditional probabilities, whereas subsequent choices were based on conjunctive probabilities. This strategy occurred across different start conditions in which more or less cards were already presented face up. Consequently, the proportion of risky choices was substantially higher when participants started from a state with some cards facing up, compared with when they arrived at that state starting from the very beginning. The results, alternative accounts, and implications are discussed.

This two week assignment asks students to interpret and analyze the 1974 Arecibo Message sent by Drake and Sagan. Week 1 introduces the concepts behind the construction of the message and engages with a critical analysis of the architecture and the contents of the message. Week 2 asks students to develop software in a Jupyter Notebook (available for free from the Anaconda Python Distribution) to interpret messages that were similar to those produced by Drake and Sagan.

Solar panels, windmills, and public trash compactors are expensive, but is it even more costly to the environment to do without these green technologies?

Thinking about how hedge funds are different from other institutions. Created by Sal Khan.