We take our place value generator to decimals to help students see the simplicity of the place value pattern going right as well as left.
The Chessboard
We take that great old problem of the inventor of chess and the ruler of India and use it to see how powers of 2 grow in size. We start out with a chessboard and look at doubling each successive number. Then we seek a method of representing this doubling in a formula and introduce …
Sine Function
Spreadsheets are not limited to algebraic functions, they can also display trigonometric functions. We are modeling the sine function, but you can try any of the trig functions by going to the Formulas menu and choosing it. We have the 3 most significant parameters of the sine function, to control the amplitude, frequency and phase. …
Polynomial Functions
Polynomial functions are not limited to the highest term and while that term is most important in determining the shape of its graph, additional terms play a role. Try out additional terms to see how they affect the shapes of the graph. Focus on the patterns!
Power Functions
Adding an exponent, sometimes referred to as a ‘power’, to the input variable of a linear function that passes through the origin creates a power function. Changing the parameters of these functions reveal some important and interesting patterns.