Real World Math Discussions
Photo from Physics Central: Physics Buzz blog.
A colleague of mine, Leigh Ann Austen had sent on an article titled: If you could fold a piece of paper 42 times, it would reach the moon and suggested I bring it up to my math class. What a great way to get students thinking at the start of a lesson involving exponential growth since each fold would provide double the thickness.
As OMG-Facts.com cites:
… One page is about 0.01 centimeters high … The moon’s average distance from earth is 384,000 kilometers away …
With this in mind, your students could begin the inquiry process by taking what they know and attempting to find some sort of pattern like:
| # of Folds | Thickness (cm) |
|---|---|
| 0 | 0.01 |
| 1 | 0.02 |
| 2 | 0.04 |
| 3 | 0.08 |
| 4 | 0.16 |
| 5 | 0.32 |
| … | … |
Some guiding questions:
Is this claim factual? Can we find an easier way than using a table to test the validity?
I’m sure students would engage in a pretty interesting discussion and would be willing to provide some insight into their thinking…
To see the original article, click here.
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About Kyle Pearce
I’m Kyle Pearce and I am a former high school math teacher. I’m now the K-12 Mathematics Consultant with the Greater Essex County District School Board, where I uncover creative ways to spark curiosity and fuel sense making in mathematics. Read more.
Read More From The Blog
One of the first TED-ED Lessons was about this very thing http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-folding-paper-can-get-you-to-the-moon