MAT 100 – Outside-of-Class Assignment (30 points) – Due Thursday, July 26, 2012
Each student must complete 3 of the following assignments (10 points each). On this assignment sheet, circle the three assignments you chose to complete and include this sheet as a cover sheet in your submission. Each report should be titled and where logical, the work should be typed. Finally, submit the entire assignment in a folder.
- SOMETHING ELSE: Study a topic from your textbook that we have not/will not study in class. Learn something mathematical you don’t already know and tell me (in writing) what you learned.
- FOR FURTHER THOUGHT: Study and complete a “For Further Thought” from your textbook from Chapter 2, 3, 11, 12, 13, or 14 (one of the chapters we have studied or will study in class) There is at least one in each chapter – for example, see p. 68.
- CONNECTION: Find a mathematical concept in or mathematical connection to a literary work, musical selection, or work of art. Explain the mathematical concept and the mathematical connection to your selection.
- DISCOVER pi ( π ) : ‘Discover’ pi ( π ) by VERYCAREFULLY measuring the circumference and diameter of at least 10 circular objects. Calculate the quotients of those measurements (Circumference divided by diameter). Average your 10 quotients and compare that average to the value of π . Give your measurements and calculations in an organized report complete with explanations and descriptions.
- PIZZA: It is not unusual to see pizza ads such as ‘2 large for $$$’ or ‘3 medium for $$$’ and a person may subsequently want to place an order based on the ‘most for my money’ theory. Secure a pizza ad and compare and contrast unit costs of different pizza ‘deals’. (unit cost is cost per unit – in this case, probably cost per square inch)
- CREDIT CARDCOST: Credit card payoff spreadsheet exploration – how long does it take to ‘pay it off’ a credit card balance of $2000 and how much do you actually pay? (see pages 2 of this handout – step (4) of the assignment tells you what to turn in) Note: at first glance, the instructions may seem to be overly detailed and involved – in reality, that detail makes this spreadsheet extremely easy to complete. If you have credit card debt and tend to make payments less than the full balance, I highly recommend you complete this exercise so you realize how much you are really paying for the item(s) you charged.
- TESSELLATION: Investigate tessellations. Briefly tell what are they and how they are formed. Photograph four (4) different tessellations in ‘the world around you’ and briefly discuss the geometric figure(s) included in each tessellation. Create an Escher-type tessellation of your own. Submit your report, photographs, and original tessellation.
- RECIPE: The ingredients for a chocolate chip cookie recipe are given below. This recipe makes 5 dozen cookies. ‘Cut’ this recipe to make only 2 dozen cookies (oh dear! what will you do about the eggs? Consult an experienced cook to see what they recommend). Expand this recipe to make 30 dozen cookies. In the expanded recipe, give each amount in the largest practical unit – for instance, rather than lots of teaspoons, you should give a number of tablespoons or cups; or rather than multiple cups, you should give a number of pints or quarts; or rather than sticks of butter, you should give pounds.
2 sticks butter 2 ¼ cups flour ½ teaspoon salt 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
2/3 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon soda2 cups chocolate chips
- SWIMMING POOL: Jan, a homeowner, plans to have a pool put in her backyard. The pool will be rectangular – 12 ft wide and 30 ft long, with an initial depth of 3 ft in the shallow end sloping gradually to a depth of 10 ft and then a constant depth of 10 ft in the deep end. The sloped-bottom shallow end is 20 ft long with the constant-depth deep end being 10 ft long. A sketch of the planned pool would likely be helpful. Jan is understandably concerned about the cost of filling the pool with water. Calculate for Jan the cost of filling the pool to within 6 in of the top. (get water cost from your local water supplier) Submit all sketches and calculations. Take care to label your work – if you are calculating volume, call it that; include units with all calculations; show details of conversions.
- MOBIUS STRIP: Investigate the Mobius strip. Make a simple Mobius strip and then others in which you complete some of the activities/investigations frequently suggested in Mobius strip readings. In addition to sources you find, you may want to look at and . Write a short summary of what you learned and attach to it the strips and variations thereof that you made.
#6 Credit Card Cost
In this assignment you are to:
- create a credit card payoff spreadsheet, following the given instructions/requirements
- explore a debt of $2000 with 18% interest and monthly payments of $40 (the minimum required monthly payment)
- explore a debt of $2000 with 18% interest and monthly payments of $100 (2.5 times the minimum required monthly payment)
- write a summary of each exploration, including the number of years and/or months required to pay off the debt, interest paid in each case, and the total amount paid on the $2000 debt; submit your summary along with a hard copy of each scenario’s spreadsheet
Create a credit card payoff spreadsheet
Create the following headings for the columns (in this order, from left to right):Cell A1: Month
Cell B1: Balance
Cell C1: Interest
Cell D1: Payment
Cell E1: Applied to Balance
Cell F1: New Balance
Cell G1: Available Credit
In Cell A2, type the following: 1
In Cell B2, type the amount of your initial purchase or initial debt -- $2000
In Cell C2, type the following: =B2*(18/12)% (because you are paying 18% monthly)
In Cell D2, type the amount of your monthly payment (first scenario, $40; second scenario, $100)
In Cell E2, type the following: =D2-C2
In Cell F2, type the following =B2-E2
In Cell G2,type the following =2000-F2 (this assumes you charge no more during the payoff)
In Cell A3, type the following: =A2+1
In Cell B3, type the following: =F2
In Cell D3, type the following: =D2
To format the cells for two decimal places: Click on Cell B2 and drag (highlight) across to Cell G2. With this row highlighted, go to Format, then Cells, and then Currency. Click”OK”.
To fill in the columns:
For Column A: Click on Cell A3, then drag down and highlight several cells (you can always highlight additional cells later). With the cells highlighted, go to “Edit”, then “Fill”, then “Down”. (or you can type Ctrl+D)
For Column B: Click on Cell B3, then drag down and highlight several cells (you can always highlight additional cells later). With the cells highlighted, go to “Edit”, then “Fill”, then “Down”. (or you can type Ctrl+D) (Don’t worry if zeros appear!)
For ColumnsC through G: Click on the #2 cell in each column (for instance, click on C2), then drag down and highlight several cells (you can always highlight additional cells later). With the cells highlighted, go to “Edit”, then “Fill”, then “Down”. (or you can type Ctrl+D)
Once you have filled in all of these cells, scroll down to see if the balance in column F is at “0”. If it is not at a zero balance, add more rows following the “To fill in the columns” instructions above. You will need to adjust the last payment in order to obtain a balance of exactly zero.
To total the Interest Paid and Total Amount Paid Colums:
Once Column F is at a zero balance, go to Column C in the next empty row. Click on the summation key (looks like: ∑ ) and press Enter. This will sum the entire column, giving you the amount of interest that you paid on your account.
Next, go to Column D in that same row. Click on the summation key and press Enter. This will add the entire column, giving you the total amount that you paid on your account.
The number of months required to pay the debt is given by the final number in Column A.