Mathematics

MATH

Trigonometry

Students apply their theoretical knowledge of sines, cosines, and tangents to a practical problem: can they use trigonometry and old maps to reconstruct the location of Samuel Phillips’s Mansion House? The Phillips Academy founder built the house in the 1780s, but it burned down in 1887. Each phase of the project adds complexity, beginning with only a tape and then expanding to include a simple surveying instrument. At the end of the project, the students, working in small groups, compare their maps and discuss how they surmounted challenges. (Re-

quires at least three periods)

Statistics

Working with museum staff, students use statistics to investigate aspects of the Peabody’s collections in a hands-on manner, and then create a poster based on their work. Past topics include the use of ceramic sherds to test the validity of southwestern ceramic chronology. Faculty may select topics in conjunction with museum staff. (Multiday or long-term

project)

Radiocarbon Dating

Students join an experiment already in progress. Each station has a funnel with a block of ice suspended above a beaker. Students are challenged to plot volume against time to predict the zero point when the experiment was begun. The resultant plot is the foundation for a discussion of isotopic decay, the basis of carbon-14 dating.