Recently in Scimathics we have been working a project that is all about graphing and linear equations. To show this interestingly, we decided to take sets of data that have to do with constantly changing water levels in major bodies of water rising or falling consistently at a rapid rate. 

For this mini-project that was only two or three weeks long I paired up with Lucas and we eventually decided to document the change in water level of Lake Superior. We took data from the 1930’s to about 2006 and looked at the common trend of the water level decreasing. We took this information, graphed it, then put it into a keynote presentation for our class. 

One of the most challenging aspect of this project was finding data that was consistent and interesting. Most bodies of water that we wanted to do either weren’t changing consistently or weren’t changing noticeably at all. We thought Lake Superior was an interesting choice because it was consistently changing and was a very major body of water that lots of people rely on. 

Another challenging aspect of this project was the math behind it. We learned how to put our data into a linear equation or Y = MX+B (which all linear equations are based off of.) we used the app Desmos to graph and with a little help from Mr. Gross we figured it out and made a really nice, concise graph.

Throughout every project there are definitely underlying themes or ideas for you to grasp, wether they are directly the math equation or concepts or just something that comes along with it, and this project is no exception. First off, in this project I learned to develop, demonstrate, and apply mathematical understanding through play, story, inquiry, and problem solving. This is because by presenting the graphing and equations that we did we built a little bit of a story and definitely showed some inquiry into not only math concepts but also bodies of water. Next, I think that I used mistakes to make advancements in my learning. At several points in this project when I would make a mistake, instead of stopping or quitting I would ask a friend or a teacher and get an answer that helped build my knowledge one way or another. Another competency I think I worked on is representing  mathematical ideas in concrete, pictorial, and symbolic forms. I did this because I represented my understanding through graphs and equations probably daily in this project and even in this post. Lastly I think I modeled with mathematics in situational contexts. I did this by modeling with my graphs. It was in a situational context because of how I was graphing water levels and using specific sets of data.