The IntMath Newsletter - April 2007

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Interactive Mathematics.

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1. This month's math tip
2. Earth Day
3. Latest IntMath Revisions
4. Latest from the math blog
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THIS MONTH'S MATH TIP - EXAMINATION PEACE

Many of you have math exams in the next few weeks. Some students go about exams all wrong.

Things I always did to ensure I was in peak form for exam day:

* I would make time for exercise (increased blood flow to the brain helps learning. The mind-body connection is important).

* I would get a decent sleep (last minute cramming is very dangerous - I only did it once and almost fell asleep in the exam). Sleep is essential for problem solving - and for learning.

* I would eat well. If you have an afternoon or evening paper, avoid the carbs - they make you more sleepy.

* I would try to learn all formulas (even though they were going to give us a formula sheet in the exam). Then I would have a much better idea about which formula to use in which situation.

* I never rote-learned answers. It is so obvious to a marker if you are giving an answer to some question which is not there!

* I would circle key words in the question (don't try to PROVE something when they ask you to SOLVE it)

OK, enough of sounding like your mother. Good luck in your math exam.

EARTH DAY

This week is Earth Day (22 April). It is probably one of the most significant Earth Days in years.

We finally have broad agreement that the climate is changing. What is not so certain is how we should respond.

A hint to those of you deciding on your future careers...

Over the next few decades, there will be many job openings that involve mathematics:

* Climate modelling,
* Clean energy production (think coal-burning power plants),
* Pollution control.
* Bio-science
* Sea level modelling

LATEST REVISIONS in INTERACTIVE MATHEMATICS

Recent updates to the IntMath site have included:

1. A new page on Biorhythms:

2. Updated Counting and Probability chapter:

3. Updated Plane Analytic Geometry chapter:

Let me know if you have any further suggestions for improvement.

LATEST FROM THE MATH BLOG:

1) EARTH DAY AND THE SOUTHERN OSCILLATION INDEX
Australia is suffering the worst drought in 100 years. The
Southern Oscillation Index helps Australian farmers to predict
rainfall and temperature.

2) TRIG GRAPHS - HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Biorhythms claim to tell us when we should feel good and what
days to stay in bed. They are an interesting application of sine
curves with different periods.

3) WRITING NUMBERS ON THE WEB
Jakob Nielsen, the usability guru, gives guidelines on
presenting numbers on the Web.

Enjoy reading.

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