Science Practice 2: The student can use mathematics
appropriately.
Specifically the practice calls for AP science students to be able to:
MATH! I love math. I love arithmetic. I love graphing. I love stats. I hate multi variable calculus. I am a bit ambivalent about differential equations even though I am terrible at them (the last two show the effects of a miserable professor and amazing professor respectively). Regardless of my personal feelings on math there is no denying that math is deeply ingrained and intertwined in the sciences and any type of research.
In graduate school I once had a professor (in education not biology) force me write a research proposal that ultimately would produce only qualitative data. I remember thinking, "What is the point of that? Observations by themselves mean nothing unless you can identify trends." How do we know if a trend is significant? Statistics!
So now the challenge is reinforcing the consistent use of stats in our daily labs and incorporating mathematical models of the natural world where they make sense (population growth, osmotic pressure, gene frequencies). I like to introduce the mathematical models early on with a discussion of human population growth in the first couple weeks of the year. I start this with a TED video by Hans Rosling showing the global trends in population growth.
After the video students calculate population sizes for various countries 100 years from now based on current growth rates. This moves into a discussion of human carrying capacity and identification of limiting resources. While the topic is abstract, it has a direct tie in to students lives. They can all related to overpopulation and limited natural resources. It also provides a springbard to talking about the loss of biodiversity worldwide and concepts of keystone species and extinction spirals.
Specifically the practice calls for AP science students to be able to:
- justify the selection of a mathematical routine to solve problems
- apply mathematical routines to quantities that describe natural phenomena
- estimate quantities that describe natural phenomena
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| From Wikimedia Commons |
In graduate school I once had a professor (in education not biology) force me write a research proposal that ultimately would produce only qualitative data. I remember thinking, "What is the point of that? Observations by themselves mean nothing unless you can identify trends." How do we know if a trend is significant? Statistics!
So now the challenge is reinforcing the consistent use of stats in our daily labs and incorporating mathematical models of the natural world where they make sense (population growth, osmotic pressure, gene frequencies). I like to introduce the mathematical models early on with a discussion of human population growth in the first couple weeks of the year. I start this with a TED video by Hans Rosling showing the global trends in population growth.
After the video students calculate population sizes for various countries 100 years from now based on current growth rates. This moves into a discussion of human carrying capacity and identification of limiting resources. While the topic is abstract, it has a direct tie in to students lives. They can all related to overpopulation and limited natural resources. It also provides a springbard to talking about the loss of biodiversity worldwide and concepts of keystone species and extinction spirals.
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