coding Parabolic Beams I love thinking of parabolas as being formed with a directrix and focus. Coming from a background in trajectory analysis, I find the abstract relationships of the curve to the point and line beautiful. When a light shines through the focus of a parabolic mirror, the light reflected is orthogonal to
Scripting Algebra SA9: Quadrant Play This Scripting Algebra (SA) activity looks at quadrants, mouse location, and interactive art p5.js. This activity assumes that the skills from SA1-SA8 were introduced (if-else, logical operators, random(), text(), rect(), variables, loop, pow, for, functions, translate, modulo, etc.). This activity
coding Parallel to a Parabola I received a question today about what curve is parallel to a parabola. I sat for a minute and realized that it wasn’t another parabola. It required parametric equations (at least if you wanted to keep it simple). That of course lead to code: See the Pen jOqzMJb by Sophia (@fractalkitty) on CodePen.
Scripting Algebra SA8: Odd and Even This Scripting Algebra (SA) activity uses even and odd polynomials to create generative art in p5.js. This activity assumes that the skills from SA1-SA7 were introduced (if-else, logical operators, random(), text(), rect(), variables, loop, pow, for, functions, translate etc.). This activity will in
Scripting Algebra SA7: Directrix and Focus This Scripting Algebra (SA) activity uses parabolas again to make generative art in p5.js. In SA6, we used the f(x) = ax2+bx+c form for parabolas. In SA7, we are going to take a look at the directrix and focus by using the form: (x-h)2 = 4p(y-k). This is one of my favorite ways to look […]
Scripting Algebra SA6: Parabola Art This Scripting Algebra (SA) activity uses parabolas to make generative art in p5.js. Learners will investigate existing code to analyze changes in parabolas, and other features of the output. This activity assumes that the skills from SA1-SA5 were introduced (if-else, logical operators, random(), te
52 Weeks of Math Activities Week 44: Conics, Orbits, and Projectile Motion You don’t have to be in high school math to play with conics, orbits, and projectile motion. This week (or month), learners can play with projectile motion, orbits, and conic sections with the activities below: 1.) Slicing cones * Learners can mold cones with clay and slice to see the