Math Extra Credit 2: National Pi Day!

On March 14, geeks of the world unite for national Pi Day. March 14 being, 3.14 are the first three digits of Pi. At approximately 1:59 pm- 3.14159 being the first 6 digits of pi, the annual ritual Drop of the Giant Pi takes place at pi ground zero. What is the history of pi? Pi is an extremely old number. It goes back to the time of the Babylonians and Egyptians. Although they didn't have as good of an understanding as we do today, they had figured out that it was a little bigger number than three. I believe National Pi Day is just a day to show the significance of Pi to the world. Also, I believe there is no reason to have national Pi Day because to most of the students and citizens around America, Pi is just an ordinary number.

http://www.dm.unito.it/personalpages/cerruti/mathnews.html

http://mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/faq.pi.html

Math Extra Credit 1

Researchers at the University of Chicago experimented on approximately 176 students in third and fourth grade. The researchers randomly assigned the children different gestures, no gestures, and not told anything. They were looking to find how the students solved the 6 math problems given. On a videotape, they recorded how the students explained the problem using their gestures. Children who were told to move their hands when explaining how they solved the problems were 4x as likely to solve the problems correctly. The findings concluded that body movement not only helps students and people to think better. Gesturing may be more accessible, and break through the roadblock. A report on these findings appears in the November issue of JEP: General, which is published by the American Psychological Association (APA).
[http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071104191551.htm]