When you were in kindergarten, were you ever asked to sort coloured blocks into piles? Have you ever had a card collection where you sorted different kinds into different sections? Wether you are counting coins or sorting food, you are using a form of common and complicated math. Whenever you are putting similar things into groups, you are using the same principles which are used to sort like terms in polynomial expressions. A lot of people aren’t aware that they are using this, even though they sort things on a daily basis. Throughout our last math unit, I’ve learned the importance of understanding polynomials and like terms, and feel like others should too. So, I came up with the driving question; “How can we explain like terms and polynomials in an engaging way?”. My partner Daniel and I came up with an innovative and fun answer to this question, which can help anyone understand the concept more. If you want to learn what polynomials and music have to do with each other, then read on!
Getting Ideas
Before we could make a project about like terms and polynomials, we had to understand how to use them. We started off by going through a notes package that explained what a polynomial is. Derived from the greet root for many, which is poly, and the Latin root for name, which is nomen, the term polynomial comes to the meaning of “Many Numbers”. The term Polynomial Expression is used to describe a group of terms which do not create an equation for there is no equal sign. They can contain addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, variables, constants, exponents, and negative numbers. In a polynomial expression, you will also find a leading coefficient (the first constant in the expression), the degree (the highest degree in a term in the expression), and different kinds of expressions (monomials which have one term, binomials with two, and trinomials which have three). For an example of a polynomial expression, look below.
Now typically in a polynomial expression, there will be terms which are quite similar to each other, such as they have the same variables or exponents. These are known as like terms, and can be combined to simplify an expression. This was our unit’s main focus, and we worked on many worksheets and assignments to hone our skills. I found these were when I begun to understand the concept a lot better for the examples we looked at were not only equations, but also questions which used shapes and pictures. At this point our understanding of polynomials and like terms was pretty sound, so it was time to move on towards our project.
We started off with being put into groups, me being with Daniel. It was then our job to start coming up with the focus of our project, which could be anything that related to polynomials and collecting like terms. For a while, we couldn’t decide on a direction for our comic, but then after playing in Band it hit me. One of the most common places to find groups of similar terms working together to create something is in music, and music is everywhere. Me and Daniel both like music, so this was a perfect fit for our comic. We were able to come to this conclusion through communication of our thoughts on our ideas which allowed our product to be more inclusive.
The First Pitch for our Project
Creating our Project
Once we had our topic, it was time to get to work. With our driving question being focused on how we could make polynomials more engaging, we decided to make a game. We gave it the name Symphony Quest, and had the focus being on using musical symbols as like terms which you could combine with equations. The first thing I did was write out a rule book which explained the game and how to play, which allowed me to think of the specifics which I may have missed otherwise. In then got to work on designing the cards while Daniel worked on the board. Once we this ready, I created some board game pieces and added lettering to the board, and Daniel turned the cards from digital to physical. Once the game was complete, I decided to make a video to aid in our presentation. The video would explain the key components of our game along with the math aspects which made it function. I mainly used iMovie for this step, but created the animations in Keynote. Daniel and I then completed our voice overs and our presentation was ready to go.
Our Video
Our Presentation
In my opinion, the best presentations are not only informational, but engaging as well. Keeping this in mind, we didn’t just present the game we made but gave people the opportunity to test it out. We first introduced our concept of making learning about like terms more engaging and presented our video. We then explained the math aspects for those who didn’t know, and gave a chance for people to try a turn on our game. Overall it was well received (especially since we handed out gummies afterwards) and with a few more tweaks would be a great way to get students of all ages learning about these math concepts.
Want to Play the Game Yourself?
Symphony Quest can be played by any age at any level of knowledge. It’s a great way to improve in music theory and understand the concept of polynomials or like terms. To make the game yourself, all you need is:
– A flat piece of cardboard
– Scissors
– 2 Bottle Caps
– Dice
– Paper
– A Marker
– The Rules attachment located below
Instructions: Take the cardboard and draw 32 squares on it, labeling the first and last start and finish. On 8 of the squares, write simple polynomial expressions of choice (watch the presentation video for some ideas). Next look at the rules to see the different types of cards you can make, and decide on how many of each would be fit for your game. Then use the paper to draw the symbols on and create you cards, and draw music symbols on the bottle caps to create custom game pieces. Now read the rules below and you ready to play!
What Have I Learned/What can I Take Away From This?
Polynomials is an interesting kind of math for it is something most people have used all their lives without evening knowing it. Combining like terms can be found in any aspect of life if you look hard enough, and I don’t think I would have realized this without this project. What I mean by this is any math unit can teach you a concept, but it takes something different to show you how this relates to the real world and how to apply it. I also feel my understanding of algebra has increased by understanding the terminology better and my skills with spotting like terms is sure to be useful in the future.
As for learning about work in general, I feel I still have some ways to go with simplifying my ideas. Usually I am quite adept in the thinking core competency which is were ideas are formed, however I have trouble narrowing these ideas into a actual product. This project was a step in the right direction, but I know this is an area of improvement I will continue to work at. Keeping all of this in mind, I’m ready to apply my new skills to whatever comes next in math.