Summer Randomness

Throughout the summer I'll be posting random sites with nothing in common other than the fact that some may be of interest to you.  Let's start with the live bear cam from Alaska. Every now and then I like to check in and see what the bears are doing, (hint: mostly catching and eating Salmon).

When you first load the web cam, some additional information is given at the top of the screen.  Notice what time the sun is setting in Alaska these days:

You can also take control of the camera by zooming and panning left and right.  

Happy Birthday America; You're Getting Old

So how old is 'merica?  Obviously if America were a person it would be a zombie or a vampire.  Beyond human years, for sure.  But how does the old lady compare to other countries in the world? Is she just a kid,  a rambunctious teen? Middle aged momma, or truly one of the world's elderly nations?  What you think?

Let's get to Americas's age first. Remember, these boys got bloodied and bruised fighting, and ultimately defeating, the British.  They 'declared their independence' before the war. Confident guys, them.

If you said America was 238 years old....you're correct. 
 2014 - 1776 = 238 years old.
 
 Finally, just how old is America, compared to the rest of the world's countries?  This information was harder to find, but here's the results.  There are 35 countries older than America. There are also 179 younger countries, and surprisingly, one Thai.  This country was founded in 1776 as well.  You can probably figure out which one that is. 
Enjoy the holiday.

Excuse Me, My Watch is Ringing

Both Apple and Motorola are getting ready to roll out the world's first smart watches this fall, probably in October.

It's About Time!

First made popular in the Dick Tracy comic books during the 1940's, the smart watch has been a long time coming, almost 70 years since the idea first appeared.

The Apple iWatch

Running the same OS as the iPhone, the iWatch is expected to outsell all other Apple products in its first year.

Many concept designs have been released, but Apple has not specified which particular styles are being produced.

No word yet on prices.

Motorola & Google Team Up

If you like your watches to run Android, the Moto 360 is made for you. As with the iphone, price and variety of styles has not been confirmed.

 

 What is yet to be determined..

Is there a need for both a watch and a phone?

Happy Birthday Internet

 Actually, it's happy birthday world wide web. (The internet had been around for a few years before, but was only used by professors, science geeks, and government agencies, to share information, text only, in a clumsy, slow, and complicated way. In June of 1989, one of those science geeks thought of a better way, and introduced the idea of Hyperlinks, the heart and soul of the www, or internet as we call it today.  

Here's the very first web page ever posted; it is still up 25 years later. As you can see, its come a long, long way.  What will the internet be in another 25 years, when you're still young at 40 or so?

Final Exam Part II Test Results

And....that's a wrap. 
Another round of good scores for most of you.
You learned a lot. It will help you as you move forward with your math classes.

Get your score here.

Final Exam Part I Results

Mostly very well done. Get 'em here.

Class Summary: June 11, 2014

We bury the warm-up, prepare our notebooks for Thursday's submission, and, oh yea, part I of the final exam is today.

4th Quarter Class Work Links

 Here are the links to all the required class work of this quarter. As each will count towards the 20% of your grade that is class work, be sure to complete and submit all of them.
The work is listed from the earliest in the quarter to the last assigned.

1)  April 11, Complete the Square                   

2)  April 23, 24  Quadratic Test Review

3)  May 5, Radicals                                             

4)  May 7, Simplifying Radicals

5) May 12/13 Radicals                                          

6)  May 14, Distance/Mid-Point                  7)  May 27, Rational Expressions                      

8) May 30, Rational Operations                 9)  June 2/3 Rational Equations

Class Summary: June 10, 2014

The light at the end of the tunnel... is actually very bright. One more day before the final exam.  Lots of good prep questions for the final in today's slideshow. Practice them!

June 10, 2014

Class Summary: June 9, 2014

It's the beginning of the end.  Our last topic is solving mixture type problems. Learn all about them and how easy they are to solve if you just set them up correctly.
Our class work is here, slideshow is below, add some popcorn, and you're all set.

June 9, 2014

The Week That Was: A Review

June 6th, 2014

June 5, 2014

June 4, 2014

June 3, 2014

Class work can be found here.

Rational Expression Test Scores

Good news for just about everyone on this test. You can see your score here. This was the last of six tests for this quarter. We have only the final exam remaining. Links to the other five tests this quarter are below.  You can find your average test score and then multiply by .4 since the test category is worth 40% of your grade.

Radical Equations:

Radical Operations:

Simplifying Radicals:

Quadratic Formula Retake:

Quadratic Formula:

If your test score does not appear, it is most likely the result of not taking the test. Any non-scores will change to a grade of zero after June 11.

Last Khan Academy: June 2nd-9th

I am sorry to share this sad news with you, but we have come to the last Khan Academy assignment for the year.  Take some time, let the tears roll freely, then head to the KA for these topics.

We haven't covered rational equations yet, but will this week.

Class Summary: June 2, 2014

Lot's of examples and explanations as we wind down the school year. Our class work for Monday & Tuesday is here.

June 2, 2014

Final Exam: June 11

Tuesday's Teaser

Congratulations to Ann Margaret who won the month-long eyeball test with an incredible score of 3.05.

Last week's teaser had six winners, the most in some time. Extra credit points for all six.

This week's teaser involves solving a rational equation by adding rational expressions.  Remember, these are fractions, so treat them as such.

Find the solution or solutions to the following equation:

Submit your solution, with complete steps, by end of school this Friday.

 

Khan Academy: Week of May 26-June 2

Class Summary: May 27, 2014

We begin our last unit today, Rational Expressions and Equations. Our focus is on excluded values and various methods for simplifying rational expressions. Lots of examples with answers as usual, so check the slideshow for all the information you need.

The class work for Tuesday & Wednesday is here.

May 27, 2014

Class Summary: May 20, 2014

May 20, 2014

Our class work for Tuesday & Wednesday is here.

Tuesday's Teaser

Update 1:

Congratulations to Yuuki and Ann Margaret who both took down the beast that was last week's teaser.

Update 2:

Our top score on the eyeball test is 3.83. We'll go until the end of the month. Low score recieves a $10.00 gift certificate to Subway. (Carrots are good for the eyes).

Today's Teaser:

Take your time, be organized, write neatly, and you should have little problem slaying this monster. Solution, with notes, before the next full moon.