The Dancing Popcorn Experiment

       

          

December STEM Challenge

Winter is almost here and the snow may be on its way here in the Pacific Northwest! So, why not design our own mini two-person bobsleds this month?

The sport of bobsleigh didn't begin until the late 19th century when the Swiss attached two skeleton sleds together and added a steering mechanism to make a toboggan. A chassis was added to give protection to wealthy tourists and the world's first bobsleigh club was founded in St Moritz, Switzerland in 1897.

In 1924, a four-man race took place at the first ever Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix. A two-man event was added at the 1932 Lake Placid Games in a format that has remained to the present.

Today, the world's top teams train year-round and compete mostly on artificial ice tracks in sleek high-tech sleds made of fiberglass and steel.

The U.S. is the only nation to medal in every women’s bobsled Olympic event since the discipline made its debut at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

Let's design a bobsled!

Research bobsleds and bobsledding. Use items from around your house and yard to complete this challenge.

Measure and record your ramp's angle, and the bobsled's time and distance with each test run.

Send Mrs. Sol pictures or movies of your experiment to share in class.

DUE DECEMBER 20

Unit Fractions Divided by Whole Numbers

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A strategy that works with any fraction is...

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(click on the image it enlarge it)

KCFM... Your Station for Fraction News!

This week in math we learned how to divide fractions. Luckily it's as easy as remembering a cool radio station name.

Here's how it works:

                    Keep the first fraction the same.

                    Change the division sign to a multiplication sign.

                    Flip the second fraction.

                    Multiply across.

Get it?

This 2 minute movie will show how it's done:

Now, when you divide fractions by whole numbers or vice versa, just remember to put the whole number over 1 to easily change it into a fraction. You have to do this to help with the Flip and Multiply steps.

If the whole number comes second in the equation, you'll have to do what we at KCFM like to call The Whole Number Flip. 

It's the latest craze.

CLICK HERE for a catchy tune to help you remember the steps!

DIVIDING FRACTION GAMES!

Math Playground

Moonshot

Word Problems

Mathman

Tune in tomorrow for more math fun!

And thanks for listening to KCFMmmmmmmmm...

Multiplying Fractions

So, now we are moving on to fractions. You will build on skills you learned in the past. First stop is multiplying fractions. Here is a video that I find very helpful and I think that you will too.

Whether you are a fraction expert or you need a little extra practice, 

these lessons and games will come in handy...

Multiplying Fractions

Multiplying Fractions with Whole and Mixed Numbers

Soccer Shootout

Multiply Fractions and Whole Numbers Practice

Why do fractions make me hungry?