Math Links for Week Ending Aug. 25th, 2017

As far as I'm concerned we can't have enough books about how math can be enjoyable and how it is an essential part of life. In his book "Pi of Life: The Hidden Happiness of Mathematics" Ontario educator @mathgarden's does just that. Blending pop culture with traditional and new mathematics, I think you (and your students) will be sure to find something of interest here.
Curriculum Tags: All
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781475833768/Pi-of-Life-The-Hidden-Happiness-of-Mathematics#

I like this little activity from @Desmos dealing with rates of change and the equation y = ax.
Curriculum Tags: MPM1D, MFM2P
https://teacher.desmos.com/activitybuilder/custom/584f275271adce170c8d13f4


In this time of so called "fake news" it seems we need some methods to distinguish the good from the bad. This is especially true of opinion polls. In this post, @fivethirtyeight gives us guidelines for determining whether a poll is credible or not. Beyond the what, when, where, why questions you can ask they give other things to look at to determine if a poll is good.
Curriculum Tags: Gr7, Gr8, MBF3C, MDM4U
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/fake-polls-are-a-real-problem/
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-to-avoid-falling-for-a-fake-poll/

 If you are looking for a complex problem for your students to work with that deals with volumes of composite shapes then look no further than the napkin ring problem. There is a lot of algebra needed for this but nothing beyond simple solving equations and Pythagorean theorem in this cool relationship.
Curriculum Tags: MPM1D, MFM2P, MCR3U, MCF3M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J51ncHP_BrY

From @BenOrlin comes a set of reasons that you shouldn't buy two (or even one) lottery tickets. Follow the link to get the whole story.
Curriculum Tags: MBF3M, MDM4U
https://mathwithbaddrawings.com/2017/07/26/never-buy-two-lottery-tickets/