P.P.S. Sorry, for all this. But the function return True for '[]' and False for '()'. Hmmm ..
On Sun, Sep 20, 2009 at 10:09 AM, michel paul <[email protected]> wrote: > P.S. Here's an example of an interval testing function I might discuss > that would be simple enough for general discussion: > > def interval_test(x, a, b, braces): > if braces == '[]': return a <= x and x <= b > if braces == '(]': return a < x and x <= b > if braces == '[)': return a <= x and x < b > if braces == '()': return a < x and x < b > > It works for the kind of stuff presented in our text, and I think it should > be no more difficult than the ordinary algebra. > Please let me know of alternatives. > > Plus, since SAGE can handle infinity, it allows for this: > > interval_test(oo + 1, -oo, oo, '()') > > I think it might be a fun discussion to ask them what they think will get > returned before actually executing. > SAGE does return True. > > - Michel > > > On Sun, Sep 20, 2009 at 9:03 AM, michel paul <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Hi, >> >> I'm a high school math teacher experimenting with getting kids to use >> SAGE. My situation - high school math in a department that rigidly believes >> either that >> >> 1. graphing calculators provide sufficient technology for contemporary >> math classrooms or that >> 2. technology is something secondary to the mathematics itself - it might >> be 'useful', but it's not what mathematics itself is about. >> >> It has been extremely frustrating trying to communicate in this >> environment. Ideally my vision would be to create a computational analysis >> kind of course where the kids would first learn how to articulate basic math >> concepts in pure Python. Things like the Euclidean Algorithm. Simple >> enough but important enough to focus on for good computational ways to >> think. Important - the point wouldn't be Python per se. The point would be >> computational thinking. How can we analyze tasks or concepts? Then show >> them what they have access to in SAGE. Wow. There's absolutely no rational >> reason at all why a course like that shouldn't be promoted. >> >> Well, anyway, at the moment I've opted for a strategy to weave SAGE into >> the curriculum as unobtrusively as possible. I have been successful in >> getting all my kids to open up SAGE notebook accounts. I've decided to >> weave in the use of SAGE as we work through our standard text. I'm going to >> use SAGE as my blackboard as often as possible, and I'm posting SAGE >> notebook worksheets paralleling the examples in our text for the kids to >> experiment with. It's a weird balance - trying to introduce using Python or >> SAGE to kids who have never associated that with 'math'. Funny, their >> attitudes actually parallel 1 and 2 above. It's such a weird culture. But >> other kids are seeing that, yeah, this really is pretty cool. So I hope to >> build momentum from that. >> >> So we are about to study interval notation. I'm going to show them how >> interval notation means something different in SAGE than it does in their >> texts. However, there's lots of ways they are related. >> >> My question - the text expects them to express things like (1, 4) >> intersect [2, 8] on a number line to produce the graph of [2, 4). That kind >> of stuff. It will also ask them to solve and graph typical linear >> inequalities, absolute value inequalties, etc. Is there a way to easily >> illustrate this in SAGE? >> >> I was contemplating discussing something like an interval testing >> function. But I also notice that testing something like >> >> 2.3 in [1 .. 3, step = .1] >> >> produces False. Issues like this can be a booby trap with already >> reluctant learners. >> >> Thanks for any advice, >> >> Michel Paul >> >> >> >> -- >> "Computer science is the new mathematics." >> >> -- Dr. Christos Papadimitriou >> > > > > -- > "Computer science is the new mathematics." > > -- Dr. Christos Papadimitriou > -- "Computer science is the new mathematics." -- Dr. Christos Papadimitriou --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sage-edu" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sage-edu?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
