Cynthia Vaskis’ Web Link
Bibliography
http://www2.mcdaniel.edu/slm/student/vaskisc/weblkbib.htm
Applied Secondary Mathematics
(History, Computations, Definitions,
and Real World Applications)
Each section contains information
that could be used by all secondary grade levels. Some students who have not had trigonometry
or calculus would not access those areas in the computation tools that use
trigonometry or calculus. There is
useful information in each math definition tool for each grade level. Some web sites explain more advanced math in
order to expose the student to different types of math used in the real
world. The space related web sites will
be examples used in the drop in lessons.
The historical web sites are to interest the student in why the math was
created and how it relates to the real world.
History of mathematics (past
mathematicians and their discoveries for all secondary math levels)
MacTutor History
of Mathematics archive – The
Date visited –
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/index.html
Math
History - This is a guide to the history of calculus from the tenth edition
of the book Thomas’ Calculus. It is an excellent source for an historical
list of mathematicians and their biographies including why they were
famous. It includes their famous
published works and sayings. High school
level students should be able to comprehend the significance of these
mathematicians’ efforts even though some of the mathematics they mention may be
for college level understanding.
Date visited –
http://occawlonline.pearsoned.com/bookbind/pubbooks/thomas_awl/chapter1/medialib/custom3/deluxe-content.html
History of
Mathematics – Professor David Joyce of
Date visited –
http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/mathhist/mathhist.html
History of
Mathematics: Chronology of Mathematicians – An excellent chronological list
of mathematicians throughout recorded history until the 1970’s. This site could be used by any level student to
look up mathematician biographies.
Date visited –
http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/mathhist/chronology.html#toc
Mathematics Archives –
Topics in Mathematics – History of Mathematics – An alphabetical list of
articles on mathematical devices, mathematicians (both contemporary and
historical figures), subjects related to math, math organizations, etc. This site is an assortment of math topics and
probably should be used only when you need to look up a particular subject area
in math. It would be more useful to a
teacher than to a student.
Date visited –
http://archives.math.utk.edu/topics/history.html
The Math Forum @ Drexel
– A list of other web sites that have mathematician biographies and
contemporary published articles on mathematics.
If you want something interesting to read about current math hot topics,
this is the place. It is probably not a
good site to do research on a specific topic in math. Adults who have experience in teaching or
studying math would appreciate this site more than high school students.
Date visited –
http://mathforum.org/library/topics/history
Women Mathematicians
– Lists biographies of women mathematicians throughout history and their
accomplishments. This site could be
inspiring to all women who have an interest in mathematics since most
historical sites only list men mathematicians.
I recommend it for anyone just to see how women have and still are contributing to this field.
Date visited –
http://www.agnescott.edu/riddle/women/women.htm
Women in Math – Lists the women in the
field of mathematics in the past and present.
It is a web site for women in technical areas such as math, physics,
computer science, etc. Some women college
and professional organizations of today are listed. If you wanted to get connected with other
women mathematicians, this is a good place to look. This is probably a site for professional
adults and not high school students unless they want to pursue math in college
and want to see what math groups are out there.
Date visited –
http://www.math.umd.edu/~wim/
Math Computations (problem solving
for algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus for all secondary grade levels)
The Math Forum – Ask Dr. Math – Tutorial on elementary, middle, high school,
and college level mathematics which includes problem solving, formulas, FAQs,
archive search, and permits questions via email to Dr. Math. This site has math problems and help for all
elementary and secondary math levels. It
would be a good site to review topics to study for a math test.
Date visited –
http://mathforum.com/dr.math/
Gomath.com – FREE MATH ON-LINE
TUTORING SERVICES – It contains a comprehensive list of pre-algebra,
algebra, and geometry problems to solve with solutions. This site would be good for math through
tenth grade level. It has some nice
summary graphics and problem solutions.
I would recommend it to anyone studying algebra or who needs some tutoring
help.
Date visited –
http://www.gomath.com/algebra.html
calculus.org – THE CALCULUS PAGE – This web
site links to a lot of other calculus related sites. It is a good source of calculus problems and
their solutions for both students and instructors. It also contains some valuable information
such as a list of professions in mathematics, tips on preparing for exams, and
calculus animations. I would recommend
it to a parent, teacher or older student who could browse the other sites to
meet their needs.
Date visited –
http://www.calculus.org/
Math Definitions
(dictionaries/encyclopedias/libraries/software for all secondary grade levels)
Mathworld – Probably the
most complete reference guide to mathematical definitions on the web
today. Every math definition possible is
listed here with some problems and solutions.
It is geared more toward a professional engineer or mathematician but if
a student wanted a clear definition of a topic in math, it could be found here.
Date visited –
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/about.html
The Math Forum @ Drexel Internet
Mathematics Library – Resource for web sites on mathematics topics,
educational materials, net-based resources such as Internet-based projects,
software, math education topics and recreations. It has information for all levels from
elementary through college and even for research. It has a search function within its web page
to find information by key words. I
would recommend this site for adults who need information to teach or for
research. A younger student may get lost
in all of the categories listed even though they would be very useful for an
adult.
Date visited –
http://www.mathforum.org/library/
Math Algebra &
Geometry Freeware and Shareware on WhatHaveWeHere.com – It is a shopping list
of descriptions of math software available.
It allows you to preview the software and then purchase it if you want
to. Many of them are math games or
puzzles for younger children in elementary school. Some games are to test grades 7 through 12
math skills in algebra and problem solving skills. I would recommend this site for parents who
want to purchase software to help their children with basic math operations
such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and algebra. There were only a few software packages for
older children.
Date visited –
http://whathavewehere.com/games/download/math.htm
Math Homework Help – Textbook solutions and
answers for tutoring in pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, and calculus homework
for students (free) when their school or teacher signs up and for $29 for
parent/student passwords. This looks
like a good site for students who are struggling and need some tutoring help
since the site has access to many published text books and can help you with
problems from your text book. I would
recommend this site for older children who don’t have a parent to help them
with their math assignments.
Date visited –
http:/www.hotmath.org/
Real World Applications (for algebra,
geometry, trigonometry, and calculus for all secondary grade levels)
Engineering Math Tools
The MathWorks
– MATLAB – The benefits of MATLAB – This is a mathematical calculation
computer program to help professional engineers and researchers calculate math
functions. It is known and used world
wide. I would recommend that any student
interested in engineering, technical research or math browse through its
functions. I think it must be purchased
so that probably only work places would have a copy to use anytime. It has some nice graphics capabilities which
are illustrated in the product’s description pages. It is still worth a look to know what can
help you as a professional later.
Date visited –
http://www.mathworks.com/products/matlab/description1.jsp
The
MathWorks – MATLAB - Functions – MATLAB functions and definitions for
arrays and matrices, linear algebra, elementary math, data analysis and Fourier
Transforms, polynomials, interpolation and computational geometry, coordinate
system conversion, nonlinear numerical methods, specialized math, sparse
matrices, and math constants. I would
recommend that older students interested in engineering and space applications
become familiar with the different types of math listed here and prepare to
take college courses in them.
Date visited –
http://www.mathworks.com/access/helpdesk/help/techdoc/ref/functionlist.shtm
Computer Simulations
eSim Games – Steel Beasts –
The company eSim has made an Army tank simulation game called Steel Beasts
which is a simulator of the US M1A1 and German Leopard 2A4 tanks that let the
players create modern armored war scenarios and play them on their PCs. You can go to the game’s web site at SteelBeasts.com
from the left column choices. The web
page’s Download choice takes you to the page
http://www.esimgames.com/Downloads.htm which has a choice to download the Steel
Beasts Demo (20MB,
Date visited – 4/13/04
http://www.steelbeasts.com
Electrical Engineering Design Tools
5Spice circuit analysis and simulation
software – This home page (at the bottom) allows you to select to download
a non-commercial version of 5Spice and make your own circuits in its display
window by selecting circuit components and placing them on the line-graphed
window. Then you can run the analysis to
test the circuit’s voltage between components.
With a little understanding of circuit design this can be a fun tool to
build you own simple circuits and it is free.
There is a Read-Me file that is also downloaded to provide the user with
information on how to use the program 5Spice.
The math to determine the voltages is not apparent but can be viewed in
any beginning electrical circuit design book.
Date visited –
http://www.5Spice.com/index.htm
Astronomy
Astronomy Remote Control Telescopes,
Observatories, View the Universe – SLOOH.com – This web site is a company
who offers membership in a group that controls two ground based telescopes in
two different observatories in the
Date visited –
http://www.slooh.com/homejs.jsp
Zane Publishing – Search for Isaac Asimov’s
Universe Collection (7 titles) on astronomy.
These software packages include topics on astronomy, space exploration,
space speculation, the inner planets, the outer planets, the solar system, and
the universe. The site contains a lot of
other educational software mostly in history.
I would recommend this site for any parent or teacher who wants to
purchase software in order to motivate their child or student to study these
topics.
Date visited –
http://www.zane.com
Star Matching/Tracking algorithms
Hubble Telescope Site - The Hubble
telescope site shows the latest and best images gathered after hundreds of
orbits around the earth and one million seconds of exposure time. The pointing controls must be very accurate
in order to look at the same part of space to see the same stars. The telescope’s attitude control (or its
orientation) is critical if the project requires that a star, or set of stars,
be located. Once a star is located it
must be matched with a star map’s description (star identification or star
matching algorithm).
Date visited –
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/
Skymaps.com – This Web site offers
information on how to purchase publication quality sky maps and star charts,
obtain beginning astronomy books or star atlases and where to purchase
telescopes and astronomy software. It
features a Night Sky Planisphere which shows the stars and constellations that
can be seen for any date and time (on left column menu). You can download either the northern or
southern hemisphere’s sky map of the month (see downloads menu choice) for free
and print only one copy for personal use.
They offer a free subscription to skymaps.com to get information in your
email. I would recommend this site to
anyone who has an interest in the stars but with parental supervision for what
is downloaded from the site and for any subscription information entered.
Date visited –
http://www.skymaps.com/
Starchart - Star mapping software
– This site draws star maps of the sky overhead for any time and location. It permits the labeling of stars with their
name, number or letter and/or their magnitude.
The documentation menu choice has a nicely organized outline of information
about charting the stars. You can read
about how the program works and learn a lot about observing the stars. Use the “next” and “previous” menu choices at
the bottom of the page to maneuver through the documentation once you have
initially selected a topic in the documentation outline. Check out the sample map from the menu
choices. I would recommend this web site
to any adult or older student who is interested in learning how to make star
charts.
Date visited –
http://starchart.sourceforge.net/
Orbital Mechanics (math to locate objects that orbit
the earth and find observer locations on the earth’s surface)
Satellite Times Columns:
Computers & Satellites – A list of documents describing the
mathematical calculations to determine the orbital coordinates of objects
orbiting the earth. I recommend this
site to anyone who might want to work in astronomy or space exploration to
learn the math behind sending up a space shuttle or orbiting space
vehicle. The topics describe in layman’s
terms what is happening with the calculations.
I think any adult or older student would be fascinated to learn how
orbits are really calculated and orbiting vehicle or satellites are observed
from earth.
Date visited –
http://celestrak.com/columns/index.shtml
CelesTrak Orbital Coordinate
Systems, Part I - This page introduces the coordinate systems used to
define where satellites are located in their orbit around the earth. It covers the Earth-Centered Inertial (ECI)
coordinate system and conversions from an observer’s latitude and longitude
position on the earth’s surface into an ECI position vector. Even though this site is listed under the
previous bibliography reference, it contains crucial information to
understanding how orbits are modeled mathematically so I gave it its own
reference. This reference will be used
in the dropin2 discussion of coordinate systems.
Date visited –
http://celestrak.com/columns/v02n01/
CelesTrak Orbital Coordinate
Systems, Part II - This page focuses on determining the position of an
observer on the surface of the earth as they look at the stars in the
Earth-Centered Inertial (ECI) coordinate system. It is a little too complicated for our
students but some professional engineers or astronomers may find it useful. The text describes the problems in making
these calculations and provides some insight into how math is used extensively
in the field of astronomy.
Date visited –
http://celestrak.com/columns/v02n02/
CelesTrak Orbital Coordinate
Systems, Part III - This page readjusts the earth model in calculating
where an observer on the surface would look for orbiting satellites. The earth is not perfectly spherical so this
page describes how the earth model is manipulated mathematically to be more
realistic with the earth’s pear shape.
This page gives the reader an idea about how complicated the math
algorithms can be to get an accurate description of the location of an observer
on the earth’s surface. I would
recommend that older students read through the text but not worry about
understanding the calculations until they have to deal with them in a job
situation. Every company that deals with
this stuff has their tried and true routines for making these calculations and
it is unlikely that someone would have to develop one from scratch.
Date visited –
http://celestrak.com/columns/v02n03/
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
web sites
Human Space
Flight (HSF) – Orbital Tracking – Select the REALTIME DATA menu choice and
view the orbital path of the International Space Station (ISS) with live
data. The real-time tracking data shows
its latitude, longitude, and altitude position over the earth. The data also shows the ISS’s orientation in
roll, pitch and yaw in relation to an Earth Centered Inertial (ECI) coordinate
system. The data shows its speed in
miles per hour (mph), kilometers per hour (kph), and meters per second (mps). Internal station environment measurements are
also displayed. The viewer can select
“Sighting Opportunities” to see when your location may be able to view the
Space Station in the sky.
Date visited –
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/tracking/index.html
NASA – NASA TV Landing
Page – Look farther down on the Human Space Flight (HSF) page and select
NASA TV via Real Player or Windows Media Player. A small WindowsMedia.com window comes up with
what NASA is currently watching. When I
did this a window looking at the Mars terrain real time came up from the Rover
on Mars. It plays in a small window
where the Favorites are normally displayed and can be redisplayed by selecting
the Media icon on the toolbar at the top of the window.
Date visited –
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html
Spacelink
– Education Schedule – This is an educational site from NASA which is a
good for everyone to review.
Date visited –
http://spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov/NASA.News/NASA.Television.Schedules/Education.Schedule/
NASA KIDS – a NASA site dedicated to kids –
Kids of all ages! – This is a really nice web site for younger and middle
school aged kids. If you select NASA
Toons you’ll see a cartoon space shuttle launch with a good explanation about
the launch. Other cartoons cover other
topics such as meteor showers and Pioneer 10 (an earth space probe) which has
traveled beyond Pluto since its launch in 1972.
There are several other activities on this web page that even adults
might find fun to try.
Date visited –
http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/
NASA Space Vehicles (Space Shuttle and Space Station)
web sites
Human Space
Flight (HSF) – Sighting Opportunities – Explanation about sighting the
International Space Station or the Space Shuttle from the Earth.
Date visited –
http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/help.html
Human
Space Flight (HSF) – International Space Station orbital location – This
page shows the International Space Station orbital position and allows the
observer to enter their location by selecting a nearby major city from a list
to see when the next time the station can be viewed from their location.
Date visited –
http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/SSapplications/Post/JavaSSOP/JavaSSOP.html
NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Association
– This is NASA’s (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) home page who
are responsible for the space program including the space shuttle and
International Space Station (ISS). You
can see what is happening with the Space Shuttle, the Space Station, new
technology coming out of the space program, and other NASA projects.
Date visited –
http://www.nasa.gov
NASA
Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston, Texas
- This is the top web page of the
Date visited –
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/
Johnson Space Center (JSC) Education
– Educational home page for
Date visited –
http://education.jsc.nasa.gov/
Space Center Houston - Adjacent to JSC
is Space Center Houston, a tourist center for the space program, to display
space artifacts (past astronaut suits, and memorabilia), a mockup of a space
station lab living and laboratory compartments with a presentation, real space
capsules that returned to earth from early space flight missions, a laboratory
with real moon rocks, a mock up of the space shuttle’s command compartment with
real control panel switches, a book/gift store, a children’s play area, an IMAX
movie theatre, a cafeteria, and a shuttle tour to JSC to see the actual space
shuttle mockups that the astronauts train in.
The Space Center Houston also has a guide that describes in an
auditorium what JSC mission control does and shows on large view screens the
actual mission control center in operation.
Date visited –
http://spacecenter.org
NASA at
Kennedy Space Center (KSC) – This is
the home page for the
Date visited –
http://ksc.nasatechnology.com/
NASA Mars Exploration Real Time Images
Mars Exploration
Rover Mission: Multimedia – You can view the images from the cameras on the
two robotic machines or rovers on Mars called “Spirit” and “
Date visited –
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/images.html
Space Related Computer Games
MacPlay – A web site that sells computer
games for the iMac. Computer games use math in the computer
graphics routines to display the objects and math translation and rotation
matrices to move them around.
Date visited –
http://www.macplay.com
Star Wars Welcome to the Official Site –
The official web site for Star Wars games.
Everyone would enjoy this site who likes computer games.
Date visited –
http://www.starwars.com
LucasArts Official Site – This is the home
page for Lucas Arts which created Star Wars movies and computer games. The games use math to display the graphics on
the screen.
Date visited –
http://www.lucasarts.com
Space Exhibits for Museums
SPACE – A JOURNEY TO OUR FUTURE – A
museum company that supplies a space exhibit to museums across the country with
interesting space related materials. I
think everyone of middle school age and older would enjoy browsing through this
site.
Date visited –
http://www.spaceexhibit.com