Father Judge - Algebra I Webquest

Algebra I WebQuest Nobel Mathematicians

Introduction

Dear Esteemed Mathematics Student:

The Nobel Prize nominations are in, and the awards will be made in Stockholm on December 10th, the date of Alfred Nobel's death. As, I am sure you noticed, there are awards in literature, physics, chemistry, peace, economics, and physiology & medicine. However, there is no award in mathematics. I am certain you share my concern with this obvious oversight on the part of the selection committee.

I am writing to propose that you prepare a nomination of your favorite mathematician to be submitted to the Nobel Committee. Perhaps by highlighting the contributions of mathematicians through the ages we can urge the committee to reconsider this oversight.

Since this is not a "normal" nomination to the committee, I think we can overlook the "must be living" rule and expand the pool of mathematicians to include all mathematicians whether living or dead. Further we can use the opportunity to highlight the contributions of women and non-western mathematicians.

In summary, please do some research and decide who is your choice for "the greatest mathematician" and make your nomination. Attached, you will find the requirements of the press kit you will need to submit and the grading standard I will use to evaluate your project.

You will need to have your press kit to me by April 28, 2010.

You will need to have your poster to me by May 17, 2010.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Keppard-Pedlow

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Task

The Nobel Prize is highly regarded. In order to make a successful nomination, it will be necessary to prepare a press kit. The press kit will consist of the following…

1. cover sheet format - name of the mathematician, picture, student's name, period and date

2. a formal letter of nomination (Form Letter)

3. bio sheet (Individual Work)

4. newspaper article (Joint Work with partner)

5. resources (Individual Work)

The members of the nominating committee will never admit to being swayed by "flashy" presentations, but in reality who knows. It is important to present your mathematician in as favorable light as possible. Be creative while covering the topic.

The letter of nomination is intended to persuade the committee. It should highlight the career of your mathematician, stressing the achievements of this person and how his or her contributions have benefited society.

The bio sheet will be approximately a typewritten page and will list the "facts" about your mathematician, where they were born, where they studied, their contributions to mathematics and science and three important facts from history during the lifetime of your nominee. Your Mathematician's name must appear at the top of the page. This should be one page, 400 to 500 words, 32 to 40 lines - single spaced, font size 12.

The newspaper article will be written as an announcement of the nomination. It should outline the importance you see in the mathematics as well as the pertinence of the mathematics to the world of today. It should be written as a general interest article. The mathematics should be there, but the general public will need to understand and enjoy it. The article should be approximately 300 words single-spaced with a bolded title using a newspaper format.

Naturally, the Nobel Committee is not easily swayed. They will require that you tell where you gathered your information. This should be typed and will be the 5th page of this press kit. Your list of references should be clear, concise and complete. This should contain at least three (3) references.

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Time Line

January 19th	In-class Introduction & Overview
February 9th	Turn in rough draft of Nomination Letter
March 2nd	Turn in rough draft of Bio Letter
March 19th	Computer Room
April 9th	Turn in rough draft of Newspaper Article
April 28th	Turn in finalized Press Kit for an assessment grade . Please note that this will include a cover sheet as well as the other four pages of material. Also include all original materials as well as the three (3) rough drafts 4th quarter major test grade.
May 17th	Power Point Poster using the information from the Webquest to generate 6 slides to be mounted on poster board. 4th quarter major test grade. Posters 2001

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Resources

Internet Links

Biographies of Women Mathematicians - Agnes Scott College
http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/women.html

Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering
http://www.mills.edu/ACAD_INFO/MCS/SPERTUS/Gender/wom_and_min.html

History of Mathematics - University of Utah, Department of Mathematics
http://www.math.utah.edu/history/

Fruman Mathematical Quotation Server
http://math.furman.edu/~mwoodard/mquot.html

The History of Mathematics- Trinity College, Dublin
http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/

MacTutor History of Mathematics archive
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/index.html

Flags of countries
http://bestweb2000.com/flags1.htm

Famous Problems in the History of Mathematics
http://mathforum.org/isaac/mathhist.html

MLA Bibliographic Format for Various Publications Types
http://home.comcast.net/~pharmaka/MLA.htm

Father Judge Library Resources

REFERENCE BOOKS:

General encyclopedias
The World of Mathematics - 4 vol. (R510 NEW)
North American Biographies: Scholars and Educators (R920 GRO, v.7)
Current Biography Yearbooks, 1943-1947 (R920 CUR)

OTHER BOOKS:

see biographies (organized by last name of person written about); Wilson's Biographies.

ELECTRONIC DATABASES: (see Mrs. Kolander in the Library)

SIRS Researcher

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Process

As a class, we will use the computer lab for one class period.

1. With a partner, explore the resources to identify the mathematician you have been assigned.

2. Collect the information you will need to prepare your press kit and save it in a Word document with references.

3. Use the word processing tools to type and print your project.

4. Save everything you do!!

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Evaluation

Your project will be evaluated using the following rubric.

Overall Project

Content	0 points There are major inaccuracies	3 points There are a few minor inaccuracies	6 points Mathematics and/or facts are understandable and correct
Grammar and spelling	0 points There are misspellings or major grammatical mistakes.	2 points There are a few grammatical problems.	4 points There are no grammatical errors. The spelling is correct. Use the spell check!
Communication	0 points Purely factual, with little appeal.	4 points The presentation is moderately interesting, but is lacking persuasion.	8 points The presentation is effective. The main ideas are clearly expressed and presented in an appealing manner

Individual Components

Letter of nomination	0 points Letter missing.	3 points Letter does not make a strongcase for the nomination.	6 points Letter is written in a correct style with clear and persuasive reasons for the nomination.
Bio sheet	0 points Bio sheet missing.	3 points Accurate, but lacking completeness.	6 points Accurate and complete.
Newspaper article	0 points Article missing.	3 points Article missing elements or lacking appeal.	6 points Covers the 5 Ws. (who, what, where, when, why) in a manner the general public can enjoy.
References	0 points References missing.	2 points 1 or 2 references.	3 points 3 references.

33 - 39	100
28 - 32	95
24 - 27	90
20 - 23	85
16 - 19	80
12 - 15	75
8 - 11	70
4 - 7	65
0 - 3	60

Addendum

The student will lose the indicated number of points for each of the following:

1. All projects must be turned in DURING the CLASS PERIOD on the DUE DATE Projects turned in the same day after the class period.	-10 points
1. All projects must be turned in DURING the CLASS PERIOD on the DUE DATE Projects turned in the next day.	-30 points
2. Staple the finalized project before turning it in.	-1 points
3. The Word Count must APPEAR at the BOTTOM right side of the BIO Sheet.	-1 point
4. Check your references to be sure they are notated correctly	-3 points
5. Return all ORIGINAL materials in the Folder.	-3 points
6. Sign the Nomination Letter	-1 point
7. All submitted work must be typed.	-10 points

8. A HARD COPY of all references (source material) must be in the final folder. Highlight any information that was used.	-5 points
9. Lack of a cover sheet	-5 points
10. Missing copies that were part of original folder.(I thru VI)	-5 points

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Conclusion

Time. It prevents us from covering the entire field of mathematics. This project will allow you to explore some additional areas of mathematics in your quest of the greatest mathematician. It is important that you develop your skills to communicate mathematically. We are in an information age, and it is necessary that you are able both to read and write about mathematics.

This project will provide you with an opportunity to explore mathematics we would not have time to cover in the normal class setting. You will benefit from your work, as well as the work of your classmates.

Some additional questions you can explore.

Who was Alfred Nobel? Why did he establish the prize given in his name?

Why is there no Nobel Prize for mathematics?

Several mathematicians have received Nobel Prizes, however, not for mathematics. Who were they and in what field were they recognized?

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This page written by Maureen Keppard-Pedlow. Click here to email.

Last updated date. 1/05/2010.

This page was adapted from Leo Paveglio's WebQuest