Mathematicians that You Should Know

A WebQuery for 10th Grade Mathematics

11/12/2007

Introduction

Students, you may remember the Pythagorean theorem, but do you know who is Pythagoras? Why and how did he create that theorem?Behind every mathematics concept is an inventor, we call them mathematicians. Mathematicians play the leading role in mathematics history. Without these people we would lack some parts of the mathematics foundation that we have today, and we would not have today's mathematics. So I say mathematicians are great and respectable. However, you may not think so, because you don't know why they are. Now is an good opportunity for you to learn about them. You are going to research and understand one of them. Who is this mathematician, why and how did he create a mathematic concept, what is his background, and what are his contributions to mathematics or people: these are some of aspects of a mathematician that you will study and learn.

Task

Gauss, Archimedes, Newton, Euler, Euclid, Riemann, Pythagoras, and Leibniz are eight very important mathematicians that we are going to get to know first. This task is a group activity, including doing on-line research, writing a paper and making a presentation. I will set three of you in a group. You will need to create a project about one mathematician with your group. Each group will choose a mathematician from the eight. You have to research, study, and discuss with your group members, and then type a two to four page paper about your mathematician.The paper should contain an introduction, main points, and a conclusion. In next Tuesday's class you will give a presentation to help your classmates know your mathematician. Please hand in a copy of your paper before your presentation.

I will have a box containing the names of the mathematicians on slips of paper. Each group will send someone up to draw a name at random.
There are eight mathematicians for you to choose, so every group will study a different mathematician.
Discuss with your group what contents you are going to address.
In your paper you have to mention at least five things about your mathematician.You can choose the points from "The Process".
Hand in your paper in next Tuesday's class.
The hard copy paper should be 2-4 pages long, the double spaced.
Don't forget to type the mathematician's name as the topic, and type your names on the paper.
Prepare a group presentation for the next Tuesday's class.
Each presentation should be 5-7 minutes long.
Each member has to talk during your presentation.
Every student will be evaluated by the members of his/her group.
You will fill out a contribution sheet about your group after your presentation, and hand it in before the end of the class.

The Process

Below are some questions to guide you to research your mathematician, and of course you can use different ideas from mine. Before you type your paper please think about what you want your classmates to know and how to inspire their interests in your mathematician :

What is his birthplace or living country?
What is his date of birth and death?
What kind of family life and growing-up environment did he have?
Did he receive a formal math education?
What is his most famous theorem?
What are his achievements and contributions to math and to people?
How did his contributions affect today's mathematical development?
What is the most famous or interesting story about him?
Do you respect him, why?

Resources

Below are some web pages that you can use for the research:

Greek Philosophy~ http://www.thebigview.com/greeks/
The World Great Mathematicians~ http://www.sci.hkbu.edu.hk/scilab/math/math.html
Famous Mathematicians~ http://euler.ciens.ucv.ve/English/mathematicians/
Famous Mathematicians owned by Buzzle.com
Indexes of Mathematicians' Biographies
The Twenty-five Greatest Mathematicians

Evaluation

Group grade:70%, including Paper: 35% and Presentation: 35%
Individual performance: 30% comes from your group members' evaluations about you

Project Rubric:

Group Paper:

CATEGORY	7	5	3	1
Introduction	First paragraph has a "grabber" or catchy beginning.	First paragraph has a weak "grabber".	A catchy beginning was attempted but was confusing rather than catchy.	No attempt was made to catch the reader's attention in the first paragraph.
Accuracy of Facts	All facts presented in the story are accurate.	Almost all facts presented in the story are accurate.	Most facts presented in the story are accurate (at least 70%).	There are several factual errors in the story.
Organization	The story is very well organized. One idea or scene follows another in a logical sequence with clear transitions.	The story is pretty well organized. One idea or scene may seem out of place. Clear transitions are used.	The story is a little hard to follow. The transitions are sometimes not clear.	Ideas and scenes seem to be randomly arranged.
Spelling and Punctuation	There are no spelling or punctuation errors in the final draft. Character and place names that the author invented are spelled consistently throughout.	There is one spelling or punctuation error in the final draft.	There are 2-3 spelling and punctuation errors in the final draft.	The final draft has more than 3 spelling and punctuation errors.
Creativity	The story contains many creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The author has really used his imagination.	The story contains a few creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The author has used his imagination.	The story contains a few creative details and/or descriptions, but they distract from the story. The author has tried to use his imagination.	There is little evidence of creativity in the story. The author does not seem to have used much imagination

Group Presentation:

CATEGORY	7	5	3	1
Preparedness	Student is completely prepared and has obviously rehearsed.	Student seems pretty prepared but might have needed a couple more rehearsals.	The student is somewhat prepared, but it is clear that rehearsal was lacking.	Student does not seem at all prepared to present.
Speaks Clearly	Speaks clearly and distinctly all (100-95%) the time, and mispronounces no words.	Speaks clearly and distinctly all (100-95%) the time, but mispronounces one word.	Speaks clearly and distinctly most ( 94-85%) of the time. Mispronounces no more than one word.	Often mumbles or can not be understood OR mispronounces more than one word.
Content	Shows a full understanding of the topic.	Shows a good understanding of the topic.	Shows a good understanding of parts of the topic.	Does not seem to understand the topic very well.
Posture and Eye Contact	Stands up straight, looks relaxed and confident. Establishes eye contact with everyone in the room during the presentation.	Stands up straight and establishes eye contact with everyone in the room during the presentation.	Sometimes stands up straight and establishes eye contact.	Slouches and/or does not look at people during the presentation.
Listens to Other Presentations	Listens intently. Does not make distracting noises or movements.	Listens intently but has one distracting noise or movement.	Sometimes does not appear to be listening but is not distracting.	Sometimes does not appear to be listening and has distracting noises or movements.

Individual performance: high contribution and cooperation: 30% ~ 25%
middle contribution and cooperation: 24%~20%
low contribution and cooperation: 19% or lower

Conclusion

After experiencing this lesson, what do you think? I hope you have a better understanding and image of these mathematicians. I also hope you learned how much stick-to-it-iveness it takes. Mathematicians are normal people as we are. Their successes always come from 1% of intelligence and 99% of continually study and practice. Do you agree?

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