Log Graphs to Plot Planetary Patterns This post is inspired by the excellent Professor Stewart’s latest book, Calculating the Cosmos. In it he looks at some of the mathematics behind our astronomical knowledge. Astronomical investigations In the late 1760s and early 1770s, 2 astronomers Titius and Bode both noticed something quite strange – there seemed […]
This is a quick example of how using Tracker software can generate a nice physics-related exploration. I took a spring, and attached it to a stand with a weight hanging from the end. I then took a video of the movement of the spring, and then uploaded this to Tracker. Height against time The first […]
Predicting the UK election using linear regression The above data is the latest opinion poll data from the Guardian. The UK will have (another) general election on June 8th. So can we use the current opinion poll data to predict the outcome? Longer term data trends Let’s start by looking at the longer term trend […]
This is an example of how an investigation into area optimisation could progress. The problem is this: A farmer has 40m of fencing. What is the maximum area he can enclose? Case 1: The rectangle: Reflection – the rectangle turns out to be a square, with sides 10m by 10m. Therefore the area enclosed is […]
Cracking ISBN and Credit Card Codes ISBN codes are used on all books published worldwide. It’s a very powerful and useful code, because it has been designed so that if you enter the wrong ISBN code the computer will immediately know – so that you don’t end up with the wrong book. There is lots […]
Modelling a Nuclear War With the current saber rattling from Donald Trump in the Korean peninsula and the instability of North Korea under Kim Jong Un (incidentally a former IB student!) the threat of nuclear war is once again in the headlines. Post Cold War we’ve got somewhat used to the peace afforded by the […]
