Mathematical+Reflections,+p+35+10-11

September 11, 2010 JSP Bi g Idea= Observation and description of chan ges in the world around us are the 1st steps in finding and learning about patterns Essential Question= What are some situations that we can describe as variable? Main Ideas in this Unit- Assuming with written reports - Whether or not you should connect the points on a graph or not - To determine differences and patterns - Interpreting tables into graphs and graphs into tables - Making lots of tables and graphs
 * __ Notes= __**

Pro’s and Con’s of a Table
 * __PRO__ || __CON__ ||
 * - Shows exact data || - Calculatin g data ||
 * - Displays data ||  ||
 * - Can calculate data ||  ||
 * - Able to add new columns if needed ||  ||

Pro’s and Con’s of a graph - Be sure to use correct axis - Make sure coordinate pairs are in order (x,y) - Consistent interval/scale - Table into a graph is ok but graph into table is less accurate - Do not connect points on a graph that has data that is continuous - When we connect line segments we __assume__ events are continuous
 * __PRO__ ||  __CON__  ||
 * - Displays data ||  - Watch out for scale errors  ||
 * - Easy to interpret ||  Data isn’t exact  ||
 * - More visual || ||

**__Questions=__** - Why can’t we read coordinate pairs with the y axis first instead? - What other ways are there to show data besides a table and a graph? - Why must the interval/scale need to be consistent?


 * 1) **What are the advantages and disadvantages of a table?**
 * __ Advantages __ || __ Disadvantages __ ||
 * - It shows exact numbers || - Not easy to find patterns ||
 * - It’s easy to understand || - It’s not very visual ||
 * - You can add more columns to it if necessary || - You need to calculate ||
 * - It displays data ||  ||
 * - It’s easy to change it into a graph ||  ||


 * 1) ** What are the advantages and disadvantages of a graph? **
 * __Advanta ges __ || __Disadvanta ges __ ||
 * - It displays data || - There could be errors in the scale ||
 * - It’s very visual || - The data isn’t exact ||
 * - It’s easy to find patterns || - It’s harder to make and draw ||
 * - It is easy to interpret || - It’s not easy to chan ge into a table ||


 * 1) ** What are the advantages and disadvantages of a written report? **
 * __ Advantages __ || __ Disadvantages __ ||
 * - All you need to do is read the report || - It doesn’t show every single piece of data ||
 * - It’s simple to work out || - It isn’t visual- It’s a boring long report ||
 * - It describes well with specific descriptions || - It’s hard to interpret into a table or graph ||
 * - It displays data || - You must assume in order to interpret into a table or a graph ||
 * || - It’s uncomfortable to work with because you need to read all of it ||


 * Think about your answers to these questions, discuss your ideas with other students and your teacher, and then write a summary of your findings in your journal. **

A main idea we focused on in this investigation was making lots of graphs and tables in order to keep track of data. Unlike the 1st investigation we made lots more tables and graphs. We made lots of graphs and tables to show the distance (miles) they traveled and the time (hours) it took them to travel that much distance the bike tour team traveled. Another main idea we focused on was interpreting graphs into tables and interpreting tables into graphs. We learned that it is harder and less accurate to interpret graphs into tables then to interpret tables into graphs. The reason is because tables show exact data while graphs don’t. A lot of the problems asked us if it would be good to connect the points on a graph or not. This was one of the things we focused on. Most of the time, the answer would be yes because when you connect the dots it makes it easier to understand the graph and what happened between each interval. It also makes it easier to recognize patterns. But sometimes the answer would be no because the points would be really close to each other so you wouldn’t really need to connect the lines in order to see patterns and understand better. Sometimes we had to assume for some problems in the ACE questions or problem 2.4. There was a written report for problem 2.4 and we had to assume how the graph or table would look like by reading the written report and assuming. We had to assume where and how much they traveled because the data wasn’t exact in the written report. The basic main points in this investigation were making graphs and tables, interpreting graphs into tables and interpreting tables into graphs, whether or not we should connect the points on a graph and assuming.

__** YOUTUBE VIDEO **__

I couldn't find any videos on disadvantages and advantages. But I did find a video on __**how to locate and plot a point on a coordinate graph-**__ []