Table 2 – Embedded mathematics within students’ follow-up Moon projects.
Student follow-up Moon project
Mathematics utilized
How does light pollution affect
what we can see?
¾ Star counts from city parking lot, from in-town
home, and from rural location.
¾ Percentage differences in star counts.
What relationships can be
found between the rise and set
times of the Moon and Sun?
¾ Collected data from the local paper and a naval
website on the Moon and Sun rise and set time.
¾ Graphical representation of data to compare
the differences in the changes in time.
How does the Moon affect
crime?
¾ Research statistics from Internet.
¾ Collected data on number of crimes per day
committed in Lubbock, Texas in 2002.
¾ Graphical representation of data comparing the
average number of crimes per day with the actual
number of crimes per full Moon day (in Lubbock).
Is there a correlation between
the full Moon and cattle behavior?
¾ Research statistics from Internet and from
personal interviews.
¾ Graphical representation of data (scatter plots
and pie charts).
What are the phases and
positions of other planets relative
to Earth?
¾ Examined planetary elliptical orbits, ecliptics
and angles of inclination, planetary rotations, and
relative orbital sizes.
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