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Kathy in Richmond

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Everything posted by Kathy in Richmond

  1. Since I can't like Rosie's posts, I'm just going to repeat it here with a link. 🙂 The minicomputer (and all there stuff) is quite good and fun for kids! CSMP
  2. This was always a hit when we studied the electromagnetic spectrum: Measuring the speed of light with marshmallows and a microwave
  3. I was going to recommend staying with Crocs for the summer, but Peter Pan beat me to it! I bought this sandal last summer on Amazon and practically lived in them.
  4. It’s been a while, but my Math-loving daughter went into NEM 1 & 2 after finishing Singapore 6a&b. Like Lori said, NEM was kind of dry and a bit tedious after Singapore primary. There were a few challenge problems, but not as fun as the bar diagrams she’d enjoyed in previous years. We eventually bailed half way through NEM 2. Again, like Lori, we moved to Jacobs algebra and geometry, completing both programs in full, and they were big hits here. I would not recommend skipping to algebra 2 directly out of NEM. I compared scope & sequence at the time, and some standard topics were missing from NEM, such as graphing linear equations (that’s what I remember but there were more). As a lifelong math educator, I’m a big believer in having a very firm foundation in algebra and geometry before moving on to higher maths. 🙂
  5. Wendy - Yes, I get it about the timing. I was an AoPS mom for years on the east coast. My kids didn't start the online classes till age 12, and even then not much. We mainly found them to be in sync with the kids' natural rhythms in high school. And madteaparty is correct; the vast majority of their students are schooled kids who are taking classes at the end of the day. And lots of the teachers have careers & are teaching in their "free" time, too. Right now, though, AoPS is offering a few earlier time slots because of the Covid craziness. Maybe it'll stick? At least they're trying it out. ETA: AoPS has tried earlier time slots in the past & hasn't been able to fill them up. Since they're discussion based, they want a critical mass of students to have them run well.
  6. I just chatted with my insider (my dd who works at AoPS lol). She said that while the self-paced courses were popular, they discovered that they weren't successful in motivating the same proportion of students to complete their courses. So, rather than continuing to develop additional fully self-paced courses, their next big push will be to add new features/ updates to their classic weekly live courses. The aim is to meet the needs of a wider variety of kids while still having enough structure to keep them working & finishing their courses. Stay tuned for more info! 🙂 And she added that they're always happy to talk to parents of students in their courses who need an extension schedule or tips on effectively using the online classes. Just reach out by email with any concerns or questions...
  7. There are lots of teachers on the AP physics Community group complaining about this issue right now. Some kids are requesting makeup exams, but there seems to be glitches with that system, too. Trevor Packer posted that "AP Physics students requesting a make-up test can simply go back to their e-ticket and copy the make-up key that is at the bottom of that email, then paste it when prompted to do so at cb.org/requestmakeup. Students can submit a makeup request later today."
  8. Visit my new granddaughter who'll be born in May in San Francisco. Go to daily Mass again and the gym. See my daughter in San Diego and my mom in PA.
  9. It seems they've changed their name to Homeschool Science Press, making it tricky to track down... Experiences in Chemistry e-book Hope that helps!
  10. I used this textbook with my son years ago, before AoPS was on the market. The word problems are particularly well done & challenging without being over the top.
  11. I'd look at the AoPS classes that alewife mentioned. The counting & probability and number theory would be a nice change of pace and worthwhile. Their competition classes don't require that you enter math contests or be part of a team. From what you posted, your son might enjoy the AMC 12 problem series. Take a look at MIT OCW Scholars: multivariable calculus, linear algebra and differential equations - all good teachers.
  12. If she's looking in the Midwest, how about Rose-Hulman? They have merit scholarships (we used to have a boardie here whose dd attended on one) and are trying to attract more women.
  13. They've actually brought in several humanities people at the main office in the past few years! They don't teach in the online school, but they are teaching and developing curriculum for the brick and mortar centers. 😊
  14. Waving hi back to you, Ruth! Hope all is well with you and the boys. 😊 AoPS only has a textbook for the intro number theory level number theory. The intermediate is class only so far. You could always buy the Stark book (it's a paperback & cheap used copies are available on Amazon) after she masters the basics, and she could see if it looks readable then. Good luck to your dd!
  15. My daughter took the Stanford number theory class online several years ago, back when it was part of EPGY (and not nearly so expensive!) The course still has the same syllabus and uses the same text (Harold Stark's). It was a good course for her in grade 12. Though the prerequisite is Precalculus, it doesn't really utilize precalculus techniques. It's rather more of a mathematical maturity prerequisite than anything else. You need to be able to read and write proofs in this course. My dd had already studied both Intro and Intermediate Number Theory with AoPS before the Stanford class. It was definitely a step above the Intro level, and slightly more difficult than their Intermediate level. The early part of the Stanford course overlapped AoPS intermediate level before moving on to some different topics, with whole chapters on Diophantine equations, continued fractions, magic squares, and quadratic fields. There was weekly homework that was graded and midterm and final exams. Dd was (and is) an AoPS kid, but she did enjoy this course. She missed having online interaction with other students, though. It was reading the book, online lessons, and homework that was sent to an EPGY professor and returned graded. Maybe that's changed since then? It looks like they now also include optional online office hours where kids can ask questions...
  16. Higher - Lower works regardless of whether the curves lie above or below the x-axis. For example, try calculating the area between the lines f(x)=4 and g(x)= -4 between x=0 and x=5: It's a rectangle of length 5 and height 8, so we should get 40 for the answer. We integrate f(x)-g(x) between x=0 & 5 Since f(x) - g(x) = 4-(-4) = 8, we integrate the constant function 8 between 0 & 5, which is 8 * (5-0) = 40 ...yay, as expected! Basically it works because if x > y, then x-y > 0 regardless of whether x and/or y are positive or negative. [ I think this is tricky because this technique usually follows a section of figuring out the area between a curve y=f(x) and the x-axis. There you integrate f(x), breaking it up into positive and negative sections based on the x-intercepts....]
  17. Try here: AMC-8 locations. As per the official AMC-8 page: Q. Who is eligible to participate in the competition? A. Students with a passion for problem-solving who are in grade 8 or below and under 14.5 years of age on the day of the competition are eligible to participate in the AMC 8. One of my kids enjoyed participating from 5th grade on.
  18. Take a look at the member institutions link for the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies. My daughter, who has a Classics degree with a specialty in Latin, spent a semester abroad in Rome with ICCS several years ago. It's a rigorous program that attracts some of the best undergraduates in Classics in the US every year. You can see from the listing that the feeder colleges encompass all levels of selectivity. Maybe it'll give you an idea or two?
  19. OK, when we look for critical points we set dy/dx =0: -0.03 (x+1)^2 + 0.03 = 0 0.03 (x+1)^2 = 0.03 (x+1)^2 = 1 (x+1) = +1 or -1 x=0 or x= -2 (did you miss the minus sign? or did you get confused by their calling y(x) a deflection?) Reject -2 since it's outside of the domain of [0,3]. So the max must occur at one of the endpoints. Test x=0 and x=3. Obviously, x=3 gives the max deflection. It IS a confusing problem! They need to be more careful in their terminology 🙂
  20. I find it a little annoying that they define y to be the deflection, when y as defined is always negative for x between 0 and 3. So their deflection is negative. This gets tricky when they say to maximize the deflection. Technically speaking, the maximum value would be zero! But what they really mean (common sense) is that the deflection is the absolute value of the function y(x). So then the maximum occurs at the other endpoint when x=3. With that in mind, I got a max deflection of 0.54 meters. Is that what was bothering you?
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