Algebra 1 Class Today, March 20, is International Happiness Day! It was proclaimed by the United Nations. All nations agreed to try to do something to make others happy today. What is something you could do to make someone happy today? Just hanging out being happy at Callaway Gardens. This is our list: Give a homeless person a sandwich. http://www.thesandwichproject.org Give a random person a high five. Take out the trash for the family. Help mom with chores around the house. Remember my friend’s birthday. Give a tip at a restaurant. Thank the person working at the gas station. Give a stranger ..read more

Algebra 1 Class Introducing our original right brain design.  Einstein would be proud!  Learning takes your whole brain, the left side and the right. Creativity and imagination are what we usually associate with the right brain, while engineering, math, and organization are left brain strengths. The more you incorporate both sides into learning, the more likely you are to remember what you learn.   It makes learning more fun too. In our class, we keep a left brain notebook and a right brain notebook.  More on that later. It deserves its own post. For today, eat pi!&n ..read more

By Dom, 9th Grade Why are algebraic fractions even worse? Here’s what we think: “First of all algebra fractions are called Rational Expressions. They have a polynomial over a polynomial. That’s a lot!” “They aren’t whole numbers, duh.” “You might have to factor. In fact, you will have to factor.” “It follows you in every math class.” “They look intimidating.” Big one! “They contain variables and usually exponents.” “Algebraic fractions encompass all previously learned math concepts.” Get Common Denominators “You can have complex algebraic rational expressions.  Even worse.” “One tiny mist ..read more

By Algebra 1 Class One Extra Day So, “Happy Birthday to you” if today is your birthday, because February 29 only comes around once every 4 years.   Not enough cake! Not enough ice cream, presents and candles to blow out! Have you ever wondered if you were born in a leap year?  You probably  haven’t,  unless your birthday is the 29th.  Every four years February has 29 days?  What?  Why is that? It’s because the earth’s rotation around the sun isn’t exactly 365 days.  It’s exactly 365.25  days, so every 4 years we accumulate an extra day.  W ..read more

This game is called Mexican Train.  At first it just seems like you are matching numbers until someone runs out of tiles.  But it’s much more than that. You need a Strategy!  A grand plan.  Learning to plan your moves. Making a set up.  Being on the offensive, not running for your life. So, Math?  How does strategy fit in?  Strategy is thinking, figuring out what you think will work.  It’s thinking several steps ahead. It’s being precise when you need to. It’s having a plan B.  It’s choosing your best response, not just reacting. Right? Next time y ..read more

By Algebra 1 Students The next SAT is March 9, 2024. It is monumental in the USA because of the many changes this year.  It will be all digital.  Whoever heard of an SAT without #2 pencils!  Phenomenal! Math and Reading will each be divided into two sections. The test is now “adaptive”.  That is a HUGE change…..meaning the difficulty level of the second section will depend on how you do in the first section. If you do great in the first section, your next section will be harder. And you have a better chance to get a higher score.  If you struggle and don’t do so well on part on ..read more

By Stat, Pre Calc and Calc Classes We don’t get to “play” in Math very often, but today is Valentine’s Day!!!  Look what we made! So much fun ..read more

Collaboration Between Biology and Algebra 1 Classes Germs are everywhere! Right? Yes! Even if you clean everyday they are still there. In Biology we have been investigating the growth of bacteria on surfaces we touch every day. We each had an assignment and took off to swab the school. We checked the growth 5 different days over 2 weeks. Surfaces we swabbed were door knobs, bathroom doors and stall door handles. Also the microwave handle and the printer. Data was collected each time, recorded in a spreadsheet, and analyzed for 2 weeks. It took awhile but once the specimens start growing, they ..read more

So many people miss this problem. Like, it happens all the time. Take a look. WRONG! This one is not right. Did you catch the error? Here it is worked correctly. Start off by writing it twice. You could think of it as FOILing. Or you could think of it as double-distributive. Or you could think of it as multiplying all the terms in every combination. Just remember Algebra is in the deets so be alert ..read more

By Algebra 1 Class One of the main things we learn in Algebra 1 is how to graph a line. Yesterday we came across this post online from somewhere in the world from a student like us. He showed his work and said “I think I’m doing it wrong.” So we took a look. Here is his work. “What am I doing wrong?” Okay. This equation is in slope-intercept form y =mx+b. First put a point on the y-axis at -2. That is the y-intercept. He did that correctly. Next, write the slope as 1/2. Then count up 1 (the rise) from the y-intercept, then over 2 (the run). His mistake was that he counted up for the run and ac ..read more