Student Math Projects- Amazing Facts and Feats: Data Displays

Have you ever wondered, Is that even possible? Or, was that statement really true? Amazing facts can sound too incredible to believe.
Our projects will show some of these amazing facts and feats. Take for instance the fact that "Humans breathe about 23,000 times a day!" If you measured a person breathing for one minute you may find that they breathe about 20 times. That same person would breathe about 1200 times in an hour, and 28,800 times in a day. The Math and Data Displays behind the fact helps us to judge whether this sounds believable or not.
We will be able to find information to support the amazing facts and feats from books, computers sources, or teachers/librarians/adults that we know. For example, a website called, Interesting Facts lists some Science related facts:

• Each person sheds 40lbs of skin in his or her lifetime.
• Koalas sleep an average of 22 hours a day, two hours more than the sloth.
• Light would take .13 seconds to travel around the Earth.
• The largest desert in the world, the Sahara, is 3,500,000 square miles.

21facts.com also has some interesting facts about the Civil War that you may or may not believe?

• The total deaths in the United States Civil War was over 1,000,000 people
• During the Battle of Cold Harbor in the Civil War there were 7,000 people that died within 20 min.
• There were over 550 generals who served during the Civil War.
• A Confederate prison camp called Andersonville had 12,000 people die.

Books like the World Almanac, Atlases, as well as Encyclopedias could be used to find out more about these amazing facts. There is often a lot of background information and facts that can help to make the amazing facts more believable. On the other had the research often helps us point out errors or misconceptions. Either way our projects will have fun with the investigations.

Extra Support from Loyola Teacher Candidates

Swift 7th and 8th graders advance their math skills with the help of Loyola's tutoring support and team teaching.
Our Loyola teacher candidates include:
8th- 313 Jessica & Elizabeth
8th- 312 Jessica
8th- 315 Hana
7th- 314 Haley & Christina
Emphasis for these lessons is on building mathematical vocabulary, developing math concepts, strengthening math fluency, and supporting math problem solving.
Loyola University has a library of math videos. Click on this link for- Countdown Videos
These videos include review of math content and support students'
development in mathematical thinking.
What are some of your favorite activities that you've done in math?
Do you find videos helpful in reviewing and learning math? Why or Why not?

Best Fit Lines on a Scatter Plot

Best Fit Lines show the general direction of points on a data display. The best fit line doesn't connect the points, but instead is shown to be close to as many points as possible within the constraints of a straight line.

This week students measured their heights and jumping heights using meter sticks. These two variables were compared to see if one of them had any effect on the other. For example, does the height of a person affect how high the can jump? The Scatter Plot display of our data should help us see whether the answer to this question is true, or false.

Here is a website that has information and questions about scatter plots. I like the fun graphics and the way the questions give feedback about your answer. Click here to find an interactive Scatter Plots Website

Another website called The Challenge Club shows the steps to create a scatter plot.
Besides comparing the example above about whether tall people have larger hands or not, you can make scatter plots about things you're into. For example whether your favorite band's new album sales relate with the amount of attention that they're getting on the radio or Internet.
Does one thing affect another? When we make a scatter plot and draw a best fit line, we can see the relationship more clearly.