Interactive Animated Spreadsheets: A Powerful Tool for Simulations
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Transcript of Interactive Animated Spreadsheets: A Powerful Tool for Simulations
Interactive Animated Spreadsheets: A Powerful Tool for Simulations
Scott A. Sinex
Prince George’s Community College
Presented at 194th 2YC3 Conference at Montgomery College, Rockville, MD on 11-12 November 2011
Why spreadsheets?
• Easy access for students and teachers and useful for them to know
• Easy for instructors to develop – see Developer’s Guide to Excelets
• Creates an engaging pedagogy in math and the sciences
…more why?• Addresses topics conceptually, while
camouflaging mathematics– Students have to think:
predict - test - analyze …and explain
• Allows for mathematical modeling and studying errors– More science process– More multivariable approach– Mathematics resurfaces!!!!
Seriously lacking in our textbooks!!!
For today…
• Explore the almost endless possibilities…
• Examine “how to” use in the classroom to get student’s investigating and thinking
• This afternoon – build a multivariable simulation of Boyle’s Law
…and now
excelets
http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets
Let’s examine…
• Periodic trends
• Vibrations in solids
• Kinetics and chemical equilibrium
• Radioactive dating
• Investigate - Burning a Virtual Candle
http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets/radii_comparison.xls
How does the size of an atom vary on the periodic table?
Simple data bases for students to discover relationships
What about periodic trends?
http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets/PT_interactive.xls
Na
Na+ why so high?
Are bond lengths constant?
http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets/vibration_solid.xls
Simple animations add value
Enzyme Kinetics
http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets/enzyme_kinetics.xls
Investigate multivariable models
Discover the common ion effect
by adding HCl
decreasing nitrite
increasing undissociated HNO2
http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/A_B_Behavior.ppt
Radiometric Dating - How old is a rock sample?
Multiple representations!1 + D/P = ekt
symbolic
http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets/age_dating.xls
How does a burning candle behave?
http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets/burning_candles.xls
Here we collect the data by clicking the up arrow on the spinner.
…adding error to the data
Scatter is added to the data by increasing random error.
=E6+$K$7*RANDBETWEEN(-10,10)/10+$G$10
The circled scroll bar controls the size of random variation.
Burning candle…
• The activity including notes to the instructors–
http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets/burning_candles_act.pdf
• The Excelet –http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets/
burning_candles.xls
More info
• Scott Sinex [email protected] http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex
• Google: excelets
• My thanks to NSF
Thanks for attending