2015 Calculus Presentations

Today is the birthday of James Hutton, born 1726, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Hutton is famous for his theory of the age of the Earth.

The math quote of the day is by Rene Descartes who said, "Perfect numbers like perfect men are very rare."

Every year the final for my calculus classes consists of finding a partner, agreeing on a topic of interest, finding the mathematics that exists in it, and creating a presentation on that topic. This year's classes formed twenty presentations.

I have linked the title of each presentation to its Youtube site or the reader may visit my Youtube site: Charles Kruger.

The topics are: Aquariums, Aviation, Car Audio, Computer Animation, Dance 1, Dance 2, Discus, Farm, Golf, Guitars, Hydroelectric Power, Luminance in Art, Natural Disasters, Photosynthesis, Rollerblading, Soccer, Swimming, Tangled, Theory of Relativity, and Track & Field.

I enjoy these presentations for many reasons. Students take ownership of their presentations. The students and I usually learn something new. The students enjoy finding the mathematics in their topics. The presentations allow the students to be creative. The presentations are a showcase or a capstone of what the students have learned. The students use skills they have learned in other classes.

Enjoy!