In the mathematical system, the numbers are represented by two seperate but equally important groups. The bases, that represent the base numbers, and the exponents, that multiply the bases. These are their stories.
*cue law and order sound effect*
Jokes aside, I’m Jason, and this is a math post. I know. Shocking.
This post is gon’ be ‘bout exponents, but I’m mainly going to focus on the curricular competencies. So strap yourself in, and prepare for a mild ride down exponent lane.
Mind Map
As is with every science/math post, it all began with a good ol’ Mind Map. I created a mind map at the start of the unit, consisting of questions, statements, and other things I know or want to know about exponents. At the end of the unit, I added on to it. Here it is.
Our Main Project
For this unit, our main project was based on exponents, and featured the creation of an exponent based card game. Ours (Myself, Izzy, and later, Luciano) went through many changes. Our first was a presidential themed card game, but became too confusing and we resorted to our current game. However, before Zookeeper (final game), came Investigation. Investigation was Law and Order/Crime based, but due to disagreements over the art style, we came to zookeeper. This game featured you, a prominent entrepreneur wanting to start a zoo. You draw cards and play down animal cards to earn points. Rules here:
After the rules, we made our cards.
Curricular Competencies
For this project, I have three main competencies I want to focus on.
Use Logic and Patterns to Solve Puzzles and Play Games
This was pretty important for our game, as our game revolved around estimation and using logic to figure out if you’re going to bust or go under. Using Logic or Patterns was important because if you randomly played cards, you wouldn’t get anywhere. You had to strategically use your exponent and bracket cards to make products that added up to 1000-1200. This required skill and mental math, as you needed strategy to think about what cards you had in your hand, and how they could be played. I think this was used to great effect in our game as without logic, you would definitely lose so strategy and puzzle/problem solving are crucial in the game.
Use Mathematical Arguments to Support Personal Choices
This was an optional part of our game. Bluffing. This could work very well in our game, as you never actually know how much you have until the calculation, so at the end of the match, points will be proven. For example, if I play a 9 to the power of 3, and Timmy (Not actually in class) says “Hey, that’s a dumb move!”, I can wait him out and at the end, probably win because 9 to the power of 3 is 729 points. We used this very well in our game, as bluffing and estimation added to the fun of our game.
Represent Mathematial Ideas in Concrete, Pictoral, and Symbolic Forms
This is something I think we did very well, as our cards worked very well with the overall mathematical concepts. We were able to use the exponential laws to give our game some depth, and helped people better understand the concepts as well. We used cards to represent the math very well, and the pictures and design added to the theme of Zookeeper.
Well, I hoped you enjoyed that ride through the world of Exponents. Congrats if you got that Law and Order reference in the beginning.
This is Jason, signing off.