Hi Kevin -- I've done a couple Saturday Academy courses that touch on various high school and college level math topics using Python as a vehicle for improving understanding.
Sequences and series is one of my starting points. I do figurate then polyhedral numbers to limber up and keep geometry in view, then start getting into the convergent/divergent and chaotic behaviors of sequences (segue to phi via Fibonaccis, fractals via Python's cmath). If you had a Rational class handy, you could carry out a series expansion for sine and cosine to get fully rational results, e.g.: sine (x) == sigma ( ((-1)**n * x ** (2*n + 1))/fact(2*n + 1) ) http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/6/b/f/6bf16b97ce1b4c86ffa1ed55c3fdc25f.png where fact is factorial and sigma is just sum([list]) of n members (however far you want to go out). I was just writing about this recently (about how little use we make of automation to play with these series expansions for trig and log functions -- but why not change that?): http://mathforum.org/kb/message.jspa?messageID=4796483 Kirby On 6/13/06, Kevin Driscoll <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Next year, I'm going to be drafted back into the Math department after > a year of exclusively teaching CS. It looks like I'll have a class of > 11th graders in either Alg 2 or Trig/Functions. They are kids not on > the AP Calc track (possible 12th grade AP Stats candidates.) I'd love > to incorporate programming into the course. A handful of the students > will have been in a 10th grade CS class with me and could be helpers > in getting the rest of the students up to speed. > > Has anyone on-list taught a class at this level with Python integration? > > Kevin _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list [email protected] http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
