PHYS120 - Physics I with Calculus
Lab
We concluded the lab from last week by working with the Data Analysis Toolpak in Excel. Our group's results were pretty strong, I think. We measured, and calculated, the gravity near the earth's surface to be about 10.2 m/s2. Our regression line was strong ($r^2\approx.998$). We were supposed to hand in print outs on the spot, but I was using my laptop - which decided to give me battery-death stares after only 45 minutes. I had figured on it being good for at least the two hours that we would be in the lab so I didn't bring my charger with me. It wasn't.
Lecture
This week's lecture was on Newton's laws of motion, incline planes, friction, tension, and Atwood machines. Tension is one strange thing for me wrap my head around. It makes a lot more sense to think of forces as action-reaction pairs, but it still gives me a bit of trouble to set up pulley problems with the proper number and direction of tension forces acting within the system.
MATH213 - Calculus III
Well, the familiarity with derivatives and integrals was lost midway through the week. Now we have somewhat familiar concepts of tangent lines, only now they are vectors and direction matters (a lot). The notation for vector calculus is still a little strange to me. I understand magnitude and unit vectors and all that jazz, but I still get tripped up with the notation for the projection of one unit onto another.
Our first project was due on Wednesday and I'm honestly not sure if I did it correctly. We had to find the distance between skew lines which kept me burning the midnight oil from Tuesday night all the way until 6am Wednesday. For a moment, I thought I might pull an all-nighter but suddenly I had to give up and crash for two hours. Good thing I have a great alarm!
Our first project was due on Wednesday and I'm honestly not sure if I did it correctly. We had to find the distance between skew lines which kept me burning the midnight oil from Tuesday night all the way until 6am Wednesday. For a moment, I thought I might pull an all-nighter but suddenly I had to give up and crash for two hours. Good thing I have a great alarm!
ENGL102 - English Composition II (Literature)
I stayed up on Monday night reading the texts, as we were supposed to, and I woke up scrambling to read the rest of the chapter Miró Miró from Let the Great World Spin. I didn't have time to finish before running out to class so I had a great idea. I'll just listen to it on my Kindle, robot voice and all. Brilliant! Brilliant! Except for the part about actually bringing the Kindle with me. *Sigh* Then... a miracle occured! I pull into the parking lot, with my automobile making college-kid-automobile noises, find a great parking spot for a change, get out of the car, go around to the passenger's side to gather my stuff and hear "You're in my English class, right?". I look up and say "Yeah?!" "It's cancelled." Wot waaaht waaaaaaaaaaaah. You didn't notice, but a slide whistle was just played.
This was actually not a good thing. I typically only carry the materials I need for the few classes I have each day, so I had to figure out what I was going to do for the next 3 hours. I decided to head to the library to print up the brochures and problem sheets I had put together for the math club. Then I went to the student activities office to copy a whole bunch of them so we would be good for Thursday.
I was upset that I didn't have literature class this week. I don't have the best memory when it comes to reading fiction, so I may have to review last week's readings again for next week. Plus, I spent a lot of time on the readings the night before when I could have been mathing around. Why won't you let me math? On the bright side, I wouldn't have to stress over materials for the Meet the Clubs gathering.
This was actually not a good thing. I typically only carry the materials I need for the few classes I have each day, so I had to figure out what I was going to do for the next 3 hours. I decided to head to the library to print up the brochures and problem sheets I had put together for the math club. Then I went to the student activities office to copy a whole bunch of them so we would be good for Thursday.
I was upset that I didn't have literature class this week. I don't have the best memory when it comes to reading fiction, so I may have to review last week's readings again for next week. Plus, I spent a lot of time on the readings the night before when I could have been mathing around. Why won't you let me math? On the bright side, I wouldn't have to stress over materials for the Meet the Clubs gathering.
MATH215 - Linear Algebra
I think Tuesday's class was very productive and helpful. In preparation for the first test on Thursday, our professor handed out a sheet of statements about matrices, vector space, linear combinations, linear dependence, solution sets, etc. We had to form a small group to discuss whether we thought each statement was either true or false and give reasons for our answer. These types of exercises really get my brain working. For most of the statements I couldn't simply read it quickly and instantly give a response. I had to think deeply about what the statement was actually saying before I could answer with a level of confidence that was satisfactory. These first few weeks have introduced us to a type of mathematics that most of the class has not seen yet. This course has, thus far, focused heavily on the conceptual aspects of linear systems as opposed to the processes of solving and manipulating them. The latter (the how?) is much easier to understand; the rigorous attention to the former (the why?) is what is causing brain meltdowns in Sector 7-G.
Despite the progress made on Tuesday, I don't feel so great about my performance on the first test. There were a lot of questions where I felt I may have been conflating two concepts such as span and linear independence. I'm sure I confused them at some point and contradicted the reasoning for a response to a previous question. After the two hours was up and I was one of two students still taking the test, my ego was sufficiently depleted so I tapped out. I reviewed some of the homework when I finally got home and I think it helped hammer home some misconceptions I had. We'll see how I did when class reconvenes on Tuesday.
Despite the progress made on Tuesday, I don't feel so great about my performance on the first test. There were a lot of questions where I felt I may have been conflating two concepts such as span and linear independence. I'm sure I confused them at some point and contradicted the reasoning for a response to a previous question. After the two hours was up and I was one of two students still taking the test, my ego was sufficiently depleted so I tapped out. I reviewed some of the homework when I finally got home and I think it helped hammer home some misconceptions I had. We'll see how I did when class reconvenes on Tuesday.
ΜΑΘ
We had a great table location at the Meet The Clubs gathering on Thursday. When students arrived in to the student theater, they saw us looking right back at them. So we were the first to receive looks of fear and subsequent aloofness when they saw a sign that contained the word math on it. Many of them asked for a picture with us; Not because we were awesome (I mean we are, but..). No, they wanted a picture as proof that they attended so they won't fail their Foundations For Success class. Oh, how I remember that class... On one hand, I understand that some of the forced activities required to pass the course are suspect to say the least; but if I wasn't forced to go to Meet the Clubs last year, I may never have learned about the Mu Alpha Theta club/society. So as far as MTC is concerned, I think it can be a very good activity that all SCCC students should attend.
Anyway, back to the table... I put together a list of interesting problems I had found from various sources (Brilliant.org, World Wide Center of Math,...) as well as a puzzle from the YouTube channel Scam School that had stumped me last spring. I hope people enjoyed that as much as I did.
We got a few people interested in joining, but I don't think it was quite the success I had hoped it would be. If we don't get new members signed up and potential new officers in the house, this society is going to sink fast when the spring semester concludes. I'm going to fight as hard as I can to not let that happen.
Anyway, back to the table... I put together a list of interesting problems I had found from various sources (Brilliant.org, World Wide Center of Math,...) as well as a puzzle from the YouTube channel Scam School that had stumped me last spring. I hope people enjoyed that as much as I did.
We got a few people interested in joining, but I don't think it was quite the success I had hoped it would be. If we don't get new members signed up and potential new officers in the house, this society is going to sink fast when the spring semester concludes. I'm going to fight as hard as I can to not let that happen.
No comments:
Post a Comment