"It is clear that the chief end of mathematical study must be to make the students think."—John Wesley Young

Korpi’s Monday Mail

2-06-12

to

 2-10-12

Good morning everyone.

This is the 23^rd  week of school and the fourth week of the 4^th six-weeks grading period.

This week’s ANNOUNCEMENTS . . .

This week in the classroom . . .

(All chapter headings are from Korpi’s online curriculum, found at www.korpisworld.com)

PreAP Precal

AP Calculus AB

AP Calculus BC

This week on Campus . . .

Monday, February 6

8:00 Men’s Golf (2^nd Team) at NEISD Spring Classic-Olmos Park, SA

5:00 Varsity Baseball Scrimmage vs Pflugerville-Away

5:00 JVb Baseball Scrimmage vs Pflugerville-Home

 6:00 Varsity Softball vs Medina Valley-Away

 7:00 Project Graduation Parent Meeting-Buddy’s Backyard

Tuesday, February 7

 JV Tennis at San Marcos Tournament

8:00 Men’s Golf (3rd Team) at NISD Tournament-Northcliffe, Schertz

 8:15 Youth Leadership New Braunfels Field Trip-Business & Economic Development

10:00 District Principals Meeting-Ed. Center

5:00 JV Baseball Scrimmage vs Pflugerville-Home

 5:00/7:00 Girls Soccer vs Canyon (JV/V)-Away

 5:00/7:00 Boys Soccer vs Fredricksburg (JV/V)-Home

5:30/5:30/6:45/7:00 Girls Basketball vs Wagner (9thA/JV/9thB/V)-Home

5:30/5:30/6:45/7:00 Boys Basketball vs Wagner (9thA/JV/9thB/V)-Away

 7:00 Winter Band Concert-NBHS Auditorium

Wednesday, February 8

9:30 Counselor/Admin. Meeting-Conference Room

4:05 Department Chair Meeting-Career Center

Thursday, February 9

Bowling Match-Fiesta Lanes

8:00 French Club Meeting-Rm #204

 12:00 City Council PTA Meeting-Ed. Center

4:00 French Club Meeting-Rm #204

Friday, February 10

  Tennis at NEISD Tourney

 Swimming at Regional Championship-Davis Natatorium

Varsity Wrestling at Regional Tourney-Littleton Gym

 4:30/5:00 Girls Soccer vs Clark (JV/V)-Home

4:30 Varsity Baseball Scrimmage vs Johnson-Home

5:30/5:30/6:45/7:00 Boys Basketball vs Seguin (9thA/JV/9thB/V)-Home

7:00 Varsity Boys Soccer vs Clark-Home

Saturday, February 11

  Tennis at NEISD Tourney

Varsity Wrestling at Regional Tourney-Littleton Gym

10:00 JVb Baseball Scrimmage vs Reagan-Home

 10:00 JV Baseball Scrimmage vs Johnson-Away

12:00/1:30 JV Boys Soccer vs Clark (JVb/JVw)-Away

6:00 Softball Scrimmage vs O’Connor/Southwest-Here

Sunday, February 12

This week on the Math Playground . . . 

MATH BIO:

George Atwood (1745 – 1807) was an English mathematician who invented a machine for illustrating the effects of Newton's first law of motion. He was also a renowned chess player whose skill for recording many games of his own and of other players, including François-André Danican Philidor, the leading master of his time, left a valuable historical record for future generations.

Atwood was born in Westminster, where he attended Westminster School and in 1765 was admitted to Trinity College, Cambridge.  He graduated in 1769 with the rank of third wrangler and was awarded the inaugural first Smith's Prize. Subsequently he became a fellow and a tutor of the college and in 1776 was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London.

In 1784 he left Cambridge and soon afterwards received from William Pitt the Younger the office of patent searcher of the customs, which required but little attendance, enabling him to devote a considerable portion of his time to mathematics and physics.

George Atwood died unmarried in Westminster at the age of 61, and was buried there at St. Margaret's Church.

Over a century later, a lunar crater was renamed Atwood in his honor.

MATH FACT:

The Atwood machine (or Atwood's machine) was invented in 1784 by George Atwood as a laboratory experiment to verify the mechanical laws of uniformly accelerated motion. Atwood's machine is a common classroom demonstration used to illustrate principles of physics, specifically mechanics.

The ideal Atwood Machine consists of two objects of mass m₁ and m₂, connected by an inelastic massless string over an ideal massless pulley.

When m₁ = m₂, the machine is in neutral equilibrium regardless of the position of the weights.  When m₁ ≠ m₂ both masses experience uniform acceleration.

Atwood's machines can be pretty hairy. But no matter how complicated they get, there are only two things you need to do to solve them: (1) Write down the F=ma equations for all the masses (which may involve relating the tensions in various strings), and (2) relate the accelerations of the masses, using the fact that the lengths of the various strings don't change (also known as "conservation of string").

F_net = F - f = (m₂ - m₁)g - f = ma = (m₁ + m₂ + m_eq)a

MATH QUOTE: 

“What kind of scale compares the weight of two beauties, the gravity of duties, or the ground speed of joy? Tell me, what kind of gage can quantify elation? What kind of equation could I possibly employ?”—Ani DiFranco

“Someone told me that each equation I included in the book would halve the sales.”—Stephen Hawking

LIMERICK:

It may seem, with the angst it can bring,
That an Atwood's machine's a harsh thing.
But you just need to say
That F is ma,
And use conservation of string!