--construct difference tables
--approximate derivatives numerically
--run Euler's method
--approximate definite integrals using either Trapezoidal or Simpson's
rules
--run Newton's method
--approximate arc length
The list goes on. Almost anything in numerical methods you can write a
computer program to run, can also be done (faster) on a spreadsheet. One
of the nice things about a spreadsheet is that you can set up a
dynamical system and have one cell containing a parameter value, so that
when you change the parameter value in that cell, the whole sheet
automatically updates. You can run lots of numerical experiments this
way. I have an Excel file that does a Runge-Kutta approximation for the
Lorenz system, and the Excel chart feature shows the chaotic "butterfly"
attractor just as nicely as Maple or Mathematica.
Chuck Lindsey, Ph.D. clindsey@fgcu.edu
Director of General Education
Program Leader in Mathematics
Florida Gulf Coast University
19501 Ben Hill Griffin Pkwy
Fort Myers, FL 33965-6565
Phone: (941) 590-7168 Fax: (941) 590-7200
http://itech.fgcu.edu/faculty/clindsey
> -----Original Message-----
> From: SYRILDA MILLER [SMTP:SYMILLER@ECLIPSE.NET]
> Sent: Monday, January 19, 1998 11:03 AM
> To: mathedcc@archives.math.utk.edu
> Subject: [MATHEDCC] spreadsheets
>
> I am a high school math teacher interested in working on introducing
> my
> students to spreadsheets.
>
> My question: "What topics are appropriate for high school math
> classes
> utilizing spreadsheets when Graphing Calculators are also fully
> accesible?"
>
> So far I have learned how to do trendlines and use solver on
> Excel. I
> am willing to spend the time to learn anything that would be good for
> my
> students.
> I plan to try it out in my precalculus class first and expand
> to
> Algebra II and Calculus. I currently use Graphing Calculators in all
> three classes.
> I think I will introduce trendlines in Pre Calc after we have
> finished
> the units on choosing an appropriate mathematical model from the list
> of
> functions we have studied this year ( poly. rational, radical,
> exponential, log, inverse , etc). I would approach it with the idea
> that
> Excel can do the same work in choosing an appropriate function but
> has
> the advantages of a better end product presentation--printer
> capabilities ,etc. It is used in business and elsewhere, therefore
> they are more likely to encounter its use rather than the graphing
> calculator after graduation from college.
> I think that spreadsheets and high school math belong together
> as much
> as graphing calculators do. There does not seem to be a lot of this
> going on. It may be because of a lack of availability of a sufficient
> number of computers to the average high school math teacher.
>
> Syrilda
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