21
Jan
parabola
14
Jan
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
1 min read
24
Sep
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
1 min read
09
Sep
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.
1 min read
25
Aug
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
2 min read
22
Aug
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 […]
2 min read
20
Aug
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
1 min read
24
Jul
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 conics sections with the activities below: 1.) Slicing cones Learners can mold cones with clay and slice to see the possible shapes.
2 min read