Math Topics

Lists of web sites categorized by subject areas within mathematics.

Equations

1. Interactive mathematics
   ENC Digital Dozen Site  
   Date: 2003 Grade(s): 8 - Post-Sec. Cost: Free ENC#: 028744
   This Internet site is designed to help students learn mathematics by directly engaging them in a variety of lessons and tutorials that cover a broad range of topics in algebra and basic mathematics. Teachers may use these resources for classroom lectures.
   (For more details, see ENC Record.)
   
   
2. Purplemath, your algebra resource
   ENC Digital Dozen Site  
   Date: 2003 Grade(s): 8 - 10 Cost: Free ENC#: 026833
   This Internet site features student algebra lessons on material ranging from preliminary algebra topics, such as absolute value and rounding and significant digits, to advanced algebra topics including complex numbers, logarithms, and exponential functions. Each lesson provides an explanation of the topic, practical tips, hints, and examples.
   (For more details, see ENC Record.)
   
   
3. Learning math: patterns, functions, and algebra
   Featured in ENC Focus   ENC Digital Dozen Site  
   Date: 2001 Grade(s): K - 8 Cost: Free ENC#: 028833
   This Internet site offers a college-level online mathematics course designed to teach the content of patterns, functions, and algebra to teachers of elementary and middle school. The site focuses on key ideas of algebraic thinking and attempts to engage teachers through video lessons, problem-solving activities, and online demonstrations.
   (For more details, see ENC Record.)
   
   
4. Mrs. Carlton's Algebra 1
   ENC Digital Dozen Site  
   Date: 2002 Grade(s): 7 - 9 Cost: Free ENC#: 025926
   This web site, developed by a middle school teacher in California, provides a variety of Algebra I resources for students. Tutorials on a wide variety of algebra topics are available; many are interactive and supply problems with step-by-step solutions.
   (For more details, see ENC Record.)
   
   
5. Trigonometry
   ENC Digital Dozen Site  
   Date: 2000 Grade(s): 10 - Post-Sec. Cost: Free ENC#: 029343
   This Internet site offers numerous manipulative applets designed to help students acquire an intuitive understanding of trigonometry functions through a visually-oriented approach. The site is part of the MANIPULA MATH COLLECTIONS series, which provides similar online resources for geometry, vectors, and calculus.
   (For more details, see ENC Record.)
   
   
6. Zona Land
   ENC Digital Dozen Site  
   Date: 2001 Grade(s): 9 - Post-Sec. Cost: Free ENC#: 011839
   This World Wide Web (WWW) site, maintained by math and physics teacher Edward Zobel, is designed to be an educational and entertaining resource for students and teachers of high school physics and mathematics. All topics are presented in a visual, interactive format intended to help the student who has difficulty with the topics covered in a traditional presentation.
   (For more details, see ENC Record.)
   
   
7. Mathematics in biology
   Featured in ENC Focus   ENC Digital Dozen Site  
   Date: 1997 Grade(s): 11 - Post-Sec. Cost: Free ENC#: 013226
   This Internet site, created at Brandeis University, offers interactive simulations of scientific concepts that are applications of advanced mathematics topics. Content is intended for upper level mathematics and science students.
   (For more details, see ENC Record.)
   
   
8. The dynamical systems and technology project
   ENC Digital Dozen Site  
   Date: 1996 Grade(s): 11 - Post-Sec. Cost: Free ENC#: 004501
   This World Wide Web (WWW) site, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, is designed to help secondary school and college teachers of mathematics bring contemporary topics in mathematics (chaos, fractals, and dynamics) into the classroom, and to show how to use technology effectively in this process. Material is designed to help students and teachers understand the mathematical ideas behind the geometric images such as the Mandelbrot and Julia sets.
   (For more details, see ENC Record.)
   
   
9. Algebra 1: graphing linear equations : an Internet project
   ENC Digital Dozen Site  
   Date: 1997 Grade(s): 8 - 10 Cost: Free ENC#: 011613
   This World Wide Web (WWW) site was developed by a teacher to help students understand the graphing of linear equations at the elementary Algebra level. Contained here are twelve illustrated, interactive lessons covering the basic concepts involved in graphing linear equations.
   (For more details, see ENC Record.)
   
   
10. Dave's geometric pix gallery
    ENC Digital Dozen Site  
    Date: 1997 Grade(s): 9 - Post-Sec. Cost: Free ENC#: 010773
    This World Wide Web (WWW) site provides a collection of computer generated geometric images, including fractals and chaotic images, along with definitions and mathematical explanations of how they are generated. Mathematical concepts underlying the images include iterations of polynomials and rational functions, tessellations, and plane symmetry groups.
    (For more details, see ENC Record.)
    
    
11. Algebra balance scales (grades 9-12)
    Date: 2003 Grade(s): 9 - 12 Cost: Free ENC#: 101216
    With this applet, the learner defines initial conditions for graphing a fractal and observes the results. The screen opens to show a first-quadrant unit square with either triangle or parabolic curve with adjustable height and an initial point on the line y equals x.
    (For more details, see ENC Record.)
    
    
12. Balance beam activity
    Date: 2003 Grade(s): 5 - 10 Cost: Free ENC#: 101005
    This applet, with multiple levels of difficulty, enables the student to explore the meaning of balance, a key concept in developing mathematical understanding of solving equations. First, students select to work with two to four shapes of differening weights.
    (For more details, see ENC Record.)
    
    
13. Shedding light on the subject: function models of light decay
    Date: 2002 Grade(s): 9 - 12 Cost: Free ENC#: 027406
    This Internet site, from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) ILLUMINATIONS series, provides an integrated investigation in which students develop a mathematical model for the exponential decay of light through water. The investigation is divided into four parts for students to make conjectures, gather data, analyze the data, and make connections to other concepts.
    (For more details, see ENC Record.)
    
    
14. JavaSketchpad
    Date: 2003 Grade(s): 9 - 12 Cost: Free ENC#: 029299
    This web site provides 30 dynamic geometry illustrations created with JavaSketchpad. Users move sketches from the Geometer's Sketchpad software into Java applets that can be viewed with a web browser.
    (For more details, see ENC Record.)
    
    
15. Figure this! Math challenges for families
    Date: 2002 Grade(s): 6 - 8 Cost: Free ENC#: 100161
    This web site offers families, teachers, and tutors 80 mathematical challenges helpful for encouraging problem solving with students in grades 6 to 8. The math challenges focus on concepts and objects found in everyday life, such as how fast your heart beats, what shape container holds the most popcorn, and how much of me shows in a mirror.
    (For more details, see ENC Record.)
    
    
16. Smiles: which is worth more, a smile or a frown?
    Date: 2002 Grade(s): 6 - 8 Cost: Free ENC#: 100460
    This activity offers a logic problem in which students are shown an array of smiling, frowning, and neutral faces. Each row and column adds up to a different dollar amount, and students are challenged to determine how much a smile is worth.
    (For more details, see ENC Record.)
    
    
17. Stamps: how can you use old stamps?
    Date: 2002 Grade(s): 6 - 8 Cost: Free ENC#: 100313
    This challenge asks students to determine possible ways for combining stamps costing 15 and 33 cents to total 1 dollar 77 cents. It notes that this type of problem is similar to a process used for creating security codes.
    (For more details, see ENC Record.)
    
    
18. Gone fishing: my, my little fish, how you've grown!
    Date: 2002 Grade(s): 6 - 8 Cost: Free ENC#: 100495
    Opening with a cartoon showing the weights of three combinations of fish, this activity challenges students to determine the weight of each fish. This activity is part of the Figure This! collection of challenges emphasizing real-world uses of mathematics.
    (For more details, see ENC Record.)
    
    
19. Call me: a webquest for 9th grade (math A)
    Date: 2002 Grade: 9 Cost: Free ENC#: 029275
    This Internet site contains a webquest activity for grade nine that explores the rates of long-distance telephone carriers. Students are given links to several web sites where they may find data to compare the rates of 10-10 carriers with standard long-distance calling plans.
    (For more details, see ENC Record.)
    
    
20. Calculus and Mathematica at the University of Illinios, Urbana-Champaign
    Date: 1997 Grade(s): 11 - 12 Cost: Free ENC#: 003151
    This World Wide Web (WWW) site provides a college level course in calculus, differential equations, and matrix theory via the Internet, using the software program Mathematica (not included) and downloadable lessons. One goal is for students to use experimentation and real time visualization, rather than rote memorization and artificial classroom applications, in their learning of fundamental calculus concepts and ideas.
    (For more details, see ENC Record.)