Project Overview:
We started learning about Quadratics by going over simple motion. After the Simple motions worksheets we got our first actual Quadratic equation in victory celebration. Where we had to derive the equation and simplify by finding like terms. After words we explored different variables of a parabola in vertex form, and put them into demos. After that we learned how to solve area diagrams and use them in converting from standard form to vertex form and vise versa. After we did that we were given more worksheets to solidify our knowledge on how to use quadratic equations like How much can they drink?, Emergency at sea, and Profiting From Widgets. When we were done we learned about factored form and how to go from factored form to standard form. Once we finished our unit on quadratics we had a test to test our learning on quadratics.
All of our Quadratic unit led up to this activity, Getting Real with Quadratics Postcard. For this activity we took our Quadratics knowledge and implemented it to something in the real world. I decided to focus on Quadratics in Architecture by asking Where are the x-intercepts are located on the Gateway Arch. The purpose of this activity was to use our quadratic knowledge and apply it to the real world, so we are able to see how what we are learning in class is part of our everyday life.
Reflection:
Overall this unit was the best for me, I was really inspired to learn and ask questions. In this project I really pushed myself to understand each topic, and do the best I could. I put in a lot of effort into my postcard, I went back and used some of the things I learned at my Palomar class to make sure the math in my postcard was done correctly. My final post card is neat and publish worthy. Something that did not go well was falling behind of the worksheets because of not knowing how to manage my time. If there was something I would do differently is maybe choose a different questions for my postcard to make it a bit more challenging.