What I like about Algebra 2
I worry about Algebra 2 from time to time. Its the class that is mostly likely to be target for reform, usually complete replacement. But my older son is cu...
algebra
Deep Dive on a Problem
Once again the Math Circle didn’t meet this time due to MLK Day rather than snow. In fact, next week, I have an offsite at work which is going to interfere ...
Tilted Parabolas (Or all the stuff they didn’t tell you in school about them)
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” W. Shakespeare
Taking my shiny hammer and looking for nails
I was thinking some more about the Casus Irreducibilis and other weird forms of solutions derived from Cardano’s Method for cubics last night. (See: Last Pos...
Cardano’s Method
This all starts with a fantastic new video from Mathologer: 500 years of NOT teaching the cubic formula.
Summer ‘19: What did I do last summer?
Six years ago I really viewed many Mathematical topics as cut and dry. How hard can it be to learn everything there is to know about say Algebra I? Is the...
Let’s use the Angle Bisector Theorem extensions!
What is the ratio of the ellipse’s width to its height?#math #maths #mathchat #mathschat #nerdsniping #MTBoS #iteachmath pic.twitter.com/CGntV3U1f3 — Matt En...
Factorization Redux
Factoring must be in the air …
Parabola Equations and the related Coordinates
I put this together partly because I’ve been thinking about: Vieta Formula Brainstorming but mostly because I haven’t seen it elsewhere. The symmetry is mor...
Roots of Unity and Cyclotomic Polynomials
Most of the treatments of this topic are fairly grounded in Abstract Algebra and for this post I wanted to record my hopefully simpler conceptual framework.
Vieta Formula Brainstorming
I’ve on and off thought a bit about Vieta’s Formulas over the last few years. The AoPS Algebra textbook introduces them and has a few beginner problems. The...
More connections
I’ve been thinking alot about polynomial deltas recently. See: polynomial-differences. It turns out, that there are a variety of problems where its fun to u...
Tangles and Symmetry
This is a description of Dr. David Pengelley’s talk “All Tangled up and Searching for the Beauty of Symmetry” which I just attended. This makes an excellen...
Polynomial Differences
Find the polynomial $ Ax^5 + Bx^4 + Cx^3 + Dx^2 + Ex +F$ given:
In praise of the Rational Roots Theorem
First some personal historical background. In my school district, you could do Algebra in middle school but unlike a standard class it only covered linear eq...
Factoring Proof
One of the fun possibilities next year is that we can do problems with polynomials and factoring (at least by the end of the year.) I was reading a post by @...
10/13 The Distributive Property: not just a good idea
After last week I knew that I needed to start with a review of the problem that I handed out to do at home. The great news was 8 of the kids worked on it ove...
6/9 End of the Year
Today was the last meeting of the math club for the school year. I feel a bit elated to have made it through an entire year and sad at the same time to see…
2/10 Olympiad #4
Olympiad days usually go well and this one was no different. (Perhaps this means I should introduce more competitive tasks on regular days despite my instinc...