WES MATH Activities

1st:  Famous Mathematicians, how old were they? (subtract the smallest number from the bigger number).

Benjamin Banneker  Live:  1713-1806

Elbert Cox Live:  1895-1969

Euphemia Haynes Live:  1890-1980

Annie Easley Live:  1933-2011  

How old are they right now, subtract birth year from 2020

Fern Hunt Live:   1948 - present

Mark Dean    Live:   1957 - present

Katherine Johnson Live:   1918 - present

Valorie Thomas Live:   1943 - present

Lonnie Johnson Live:   1949 - present

John Urschel Live:   1991 - Present

Mae Carol Jemison Live:   1956 - Present

2nd: Find out how old each famous American would be if they were still alive… it is 2020, so subtract their birth year from 2020 and you will find out…

Thomas Edison (inventor) Born:  1847

Rosa Parks (Civil Rights Activist) Born:  1913

Henry Ford (Car Inventor) Born:  1917

Amelia Earhart (female pilot) Born:  1897

Abraham Lincoln (16th President) Born:  1809

Benjamin Banneker Born:  1731 

(Mathematician & Scientist)

Dr. George Carver (Scientist)      Born:  1864

Florence Nightingale (Nurse) Born:  1820

3rd: Using a computer, tablet, or phone research and find 5 famous americans.  Read about each one and find the age of each of your famous people.  Once you have the age, order them from least to greatest and greatest to least.  Have fun finding your favorite 5 famous americans!!

4th: It’s time to multiply with famous people.  I would like for you to research and find 3 famous mathematicians.  Read about the mathematicians you find and discover what year they were born and what their accomplishments were.  Use their birth year and multiply it by 9 to find your answer.  Once you’ve completed that, do the same thing using 3 famous people of your own choice!  Then take your 6 answers and order them from greatest to least!

5th: Mathematics did not drop from the sky. I know that, of course, but do you? What a greater appreciation you can have for mathematics as a living science if you learn about the ideas in math from heroes past and present! It all begins with "I wonder." Read about the contributions of  3-5 American Mathematicians. How would the study of math be changed if their contributions had never been? For example, to see how to approach your thinking for each mathematician’s contribution, if an American mathematician had created the idea of the number 0, what would the world be like without it?

6th: Mathematics did not drop from the sky. I know that, of course, but do you? What a greater appreciation you can have for mathematics as a living science if you learn about the ideas in math from heroes past and present! It all begins with "I wonder." Read about the contributions of  3-5 American Mathematicians. How would the study of math be changed if their contributions had never been? For example, to see how to approach your thinking for each mathematician’s contribution, if an American mathematician had created the idea of the number 0, what would the world be like without it?