Happy New Year and Welcome Back!
This is going to be a very short week (just Thursday and Friday)! We will spend much of Thursday reviewing and ensuring we remember the key concepts from 2018 as we prepare to tackle to remainder of Module 1. Students will need to be comfortable solving proportions (i.e. 3/x = 5/8) and we will also be practicing more conversions (cm to m or inches to ft, for example). It is important for students to use their units when they convert quantities so that they can ensure they have the conversions set up properly. This method of using the units in the conversion is called dimensional analysis. Here are some video examples of this concept: Dimensional analysis using the distance = rate * time formula Converting from yards/min to feet/min We will use these skills of solving proportions and dimensional analysis (as well as what we already know about unit rate) to understand a concept called scale factor. A good real-world example for this is reductions and enlargements. If you want your reduction or enlargement to look proportional (meaning none of the dimensions are distorted), you need to use a constant scale factor. This is similar to what we discussed in the beginning of Module 1 when we talked about the constant of proportionality, k, or unit rate. Don't forget, field trip forms for the STEM skating trip are due Friday, January 4th! Trip is Tuesday, January 8th! Looking ahead...
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