The tragedy of the Gulf Coast Oil Spill is an excellent teaching opportunity! Aside from the obvious science lessons, the oil spill also lends itself to learning mathematics.
1. Begin the class by having a discussion about the students' current knowledge of the oil spill.
2. Then watch news clips and continue to discussion:
- I would suggest finding a video clip from the local news where your students are located to give them a "connection".
3. Once students have a true idea of the oil spill, use the following links give students an idea of the size of the oil spill and an insight into its impact:
4. Then jump into the mathematics behind the oil spill.
Estimation - for 3rd - 8th students to get an idea of the size
Perimeter, area, and volume - for 3rd - Geometry students to find the perimeter, area, and volume of the oil spill
Graphs - for 3rd - Algebra 2 students to read, understand, and interpret graphs
Coordinate plane, ploting points, Latitude and Longitude - for 6th - Geometry students to track the location of the oil spill
Finances, Money, Stock Market - for 5th - Financial Math students to determine the cost of the oil spill
Linear, Quadratic, Exponential, etc Regression - for Algebra 1 - Pre-Calculus students to predict where the oil spill will be next
Exponential and log functions (population growth) - for Algebra 2 - Pre-Calculus students to predict how the oil spill will impact the population growth/decline
What other mathematical concepts could you address?
RSS Feed
