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It is our
understanding that it is an
infringement of copyright law to
post movie clips of any length to the internet.
If you know otherwise, please let us
know.
Roberts@mathbits.com |
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DVD and VHS box pictures
are of the movie packages owned by Fred and
Donna. While some of the boxes are from
"collection" sets or "special" editions, these
movies can also be purchased as single copies.
Purchase movies (new or used) on-line at
locations such as
Amazon.com. |
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With two
exceptions, all worksheets are graphing calculator
active (both TI-83+/84+ and Nspire).
Links to other sites were current as of May, 2008.
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"Math and the Movies" Part One |
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 Abbott and Costello: In
the Navy (1941 – Universal Studios)
Comedians, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, have joined the
Navy. Lou is attempting to make seven batches of
thirteen donuts each for the Naval officers. He cooks
28 donuts, claiming that
7 x 13 = 28. Lou shows in three different ways that
his mathematics is correct.
On-line clip at:
http://www.math.harvard.edu/~knill/mathmovies/
MathBits’ Worksheet:
A “what went wrong?” scenario; examinations of division,
multiplication and addition; algebraic investigations
to disprove Lou’s conjectures.
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Ma & Pa Kettle Back on the
Farm (1951 – Universal Studios)
Ma and Pa Kettle display their skills with finances by
showing that 25 divided by 5 is 14.
(same scenario as the Abbott and Costello routine).
On-line clip at Google:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7106559846794044495
Many on-line excerpts available -- search Google for “Ma and
Pa Kettle Math”
(no additional worksheet provided since the routine is the same as
Abbott and Costello)
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Alice in Wonderland (1999 – Lions Gate Studio – made for TV)
Actors star in a combined version of Lewis Carroll's "Alice
in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass" in a
three-hour made for TV special that contains many of the
mathematical antics of its author. A discussion at the
Mad Hatter's tea party focuses on statements and converses.
MathBits’ Worksheet:
Working with inverse, converse, contrapositive and their
truth values. Also an investigation of truth values on the
graphing calculator.
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Contact (1997 –
Warner Home Video)
Contact, based on the novel by astronomer Carl Sagan, is the story of a
free thinking radio
astronomer who discovers an intelligent signal broadcast
from deep space. Mathematics
is seen as the means of communication with an alien
civilization (through prime numbers).
MathBits’ Worksheet: Sieve of
Eratosthenes, Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic, Twin
Primes, Germain Primes, Relatively Prime, E-commerce
encryption using primes. Graphing calculator used for
computations and investigations.
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Numb3rs
(TV Series)
FBI Agent Don Eppes and his brother, Charlie Eppes, (a
brilliant mathematician) team up to solve crimes with the
assistance of mathematics. Based upon true cases.
DVD -
The Complete First Season (2005 – Paramount Home Video)
DVD -
The Complete Second Season (2006 – Paramount Home Video)
At
Amazon.com - download individual episodes for $1.99
On-line clips free for seasons 1, 2, and 3: http://numb3rs-online.net/wp/?page_id=19
TI and CBS classroom
free activities for seasons 1, 2, and 3:
http://www.weallusematheveryday.com/tools/waumed/home.htm
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Donald in Mathmagic Land (1959 – Buena Vista Home Video)
Disney’s Donald Duck has a series of adventures dealing with
mathematics, including discoveries about the Golden Ratio.
On-line clip and teacher guide at:
http://dep.disney.go.com/educational/store/detail?fromsearch=1&product_id=77A83VL00
MathBits’ Worksheet:
Constructing a golden rectangle; investigating the golden rectangle's
connection to
quadratics using algebra and the graphing calculator; and
investigating the golden rectangle and the Pythagorean
theorem.
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I Love Lucy:
Episode 39: “Job Switching“ or “The
Candy Factory” (1952 – Paramount Studios)
Lucy and Ethel take a job at a candy factory and deal with
candies on a conveyor belt.
The pattern in which the candies move along the conveyor
belt is the focus of this clip.
On-line clip at Google:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2151128672389072724&q=I+love+lucy
MathBits’ Worksheet:
Dealing with patterns and sequences, average daily inventory.
Graphing calculator used for investigative analysis.
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Star Wars -
Episode I, The Phantom Menace
(1999 – 20th Century Fox)
This is the first episode of the adventures of young Anakin
Skywalker (Darth Vader).
The famous pod race at Mos Espa Arena circuit weaves through a flat-topped
mountain called Ben’s Mesa. Here is where young Anakin
Skywalker wins the Boonta Eve Classic Podrace. The map
of the pod race circuit and locations along the track are
the focus of this mathematical investigation.
MathBits’ Worksheet: Law
of sines, Law of cosines. Graphing calculator used for
computation and investigation.
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Star Trek
-The Original Series, Vol. 21, Episodes 42:
The Trouble With Tribbles (1966 – Paramount Studios)
Tribbles are cute, furry little creatures in the Star Trek
world. Being Hermaphrodites (both male and female), a
tribble can produce a litter of 10 babies every 12 hours,
assuming none die. One tribble is trapped in the grain hold
for 3 days. Spock proclaims that there are now 1,771,561 tribbles.
MathBits’ Worksheet 1: Population growth, exponential regressions examined on the
graphing calculator.
MathBits’ Worksheet 2:
Measurement and volume. Graphing calculator used for
computation and investigation.
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The
Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain
(1995 – Walt Disney Video)
An English cartographer tells a Welsh village that their
mountain is only a hill. The villagers struggle to
raise the height of the mountain. The mathematics
deals with triangulation.
MathBits’ Worksheet:
Trigonometry, Law of Sines, Proportions in Similar
Triangles. Graphing calculator used for computation
and investigation.
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I.Q. (1994 – Paramount Studios)
Albert Einstein comes to the aid of a young garage mechanic
(who has fallen in love with
Einstein’s mathematically brilliant niece), by helping him
to pretend to be a great physicist. The clip
deals with Zeno's Paradox.
MathBits’ Worksheet:
Zeno’s Paradox, Introduction to sum of infinite series
as developed on the graphing calculator.
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The Matrix
Revolutions (2003 – Warner Home Video)
Neo and the others try to save Zion, the last real-world
city and the center of the human
resistance. Neo has confrontations with Agent Smith and his
numerous replicas (transformations).
MathBits’ Worksheet:
Transformations, glide reflections, composition of
transformations,
use of graphing calculator with transformations in addition
to
graph paper work.
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Die Hard with
a Vengeance (1995 – 20th Century Fox)
Detective John McClane and Zeus battle against a villain playing a
game of “Simon Says.” The heroes try to defuse a bomb
by solving a puzzle.
MathBits’ Worksheet:
Logical reasoning, volume. Calculator used for
computation.
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October Sky
(1999 – Universal Studios)
The true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son, who was
inspired by the first
Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's
wishes. Homer uses mathematics to prove that his
rocket did not set a fire. Homer Hickam became
a NASA engineer.
MathBits’ Worksheet: Parabolas, quadratics equations, projectile motion.
Graphing calculator used to display graphical
representations of situations and for investigation.
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Proof (2005 Miramax Studios)
The daughter of a brilliant, but mentally disturbed,
mathematician fears that she has inherited his insanity.
While the movie is a rather somber episode, it has a
humorous reference to a musical score of the imaginary i.
MathBits’ Worksheet:
Working with the imaginary i. Graphing calculator used
for computation.
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Castaway
(2000 – 20th Century Fox)
Chuck Nolan, a FedEx engineer, struggles to survive on an
isolated tropical island after a plane crash. In a
discussion with his inanimate volleyball companion, Wilson,
he laments the possibility of their rescue, based upon his
mathematical calculations.
MathBits’ Worksheet:
Area and circumference of a circle, airplane distances.
Calculator used for computation.
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Stand and
Deliver (1988 Warner Home Video)
Teacher Jaime Escalante encourages his Hispanic students to
take the Advanced Place Calculus test. The students
display their courage and strength when asked to re-take the
exam. Actual exam questions are shown.
MathBits’ Worksheet:
Getting ready for the AP Calculus Exam, word problem on
applied
derivatives. Graphing calculator used for computation
and analysis.
Note: The actual 1982 AP Calculus question that
caused the controversy regarding Escalante's students cannot
be posted on the internet.
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The Wizard of
Oz (1939 – Warner Home Video)
This is the tale of Dorothy's adventures in Oz with her
friends the lion, the scarecrow and the tin man. The
group searches for the Wizard who will solve all of their
problems. The scarecrow makes a questionable
mathematical statement.
MathBits’ Worksheet:
Dealing with triangles, triangle inequalities,
Pythagorean
Theorem, indirect algebraic proof. Graphing calculator
used for computation.
Note: See Mathematics Teacher, February,
1987, pgs. 100-101 for an interesting article entitled "Two Views of Oz"
by John Pancari and John Pace regarding the scarecrow's
theorem.
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"Math and the Movies" Part Two |
New Additions - not yet included in the PowerPoint
presentation: |
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
(2002 – Warner Home Video)
Harry Potter and Hermione Granger are trapped in
a room with two exits blocked by flames. To
survive, they must solve a logic puzzle. While
this scene does not appear in the movie, it does
appear in the book. The movie can be used as
an introduction to where the scene from the book
would occur.
MathBits’ Worksheet:
Logical reasoning. |
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