Graphing Inequalities

Thinking about resources to show students how to graph linear inequalities, I can use Autograph in the classroom as I often do but I am always keen to show them resources they can use at home.

The Desmos graphing calculator handles inequalities very well, unlike many free graph plotters it is easy to plot lines of the form x=k. Click on this image to see these inequalities on the Desmos calculator.

The Holt Online graphing calculator can deal with inequalities (though it cannot plot line of the form x=k) and gives a very clear display.

To enter an inequality, click on the equals sign, then select the required choice:

Up to four inequalities can be entered.

I am puzzled by WolframAlpha currently as I thought this would be an obvious resource to use. The inequalities examples here are fine,  however I don’t think this inequality plot for x+y<5 would help my students much!

Mathematics Excel Files

For a site with an extensive collection of Excel files for both GCSE and A level – see Mike Hadden’s MathsFiles site.
There are other  resources also, including some for Autograph.

A useful feature to help explore the Excel files is the option to see a screenshot.

These spreadsheets could be usefully used for demonstrations in the classroom and students could then study the examples further themselves.

WolframAlpha – Further Resources

WolframAlpha now has a dedicated page (and sub-pages) on this blog to make resources easy to find.
Hover over a page tab to see any associated pages.

This will be developed further.

Check Fred Feldon’s presentation on Slideshare which discusses the implications of WolframAlpha for Mathematics education and also includes many examples.

Rich Tasks

There have been several updates to the Diigo Rich Tasks list which has many resources for the classroom.
(Note that the list can also be played as web slides.)

Nrich has extensive resources including articles discussing the nature of rich tasks.
Their curriculum mapping documents provide a helpful way for teachers to find resources. Also note the Nrich Packages, these include a set of tasks on working systematically and the Nrich poster collection (scroll down to the bottom of the poster collection page to download the collection as a PowerPoint presentation).

The Nuffield AMP Investigations are designed to teach and assess key mathematical processes. Each task has detailed teacher notes.

New Bowland shorter assessment tasks include worksheets, notes and an optional presentation in three different formats, Word, pdf or PowerPoint.

From AQA comes an outstanding resource which includes numerous problems. Click the resources tab then look for the Additional Maths – Problem Solving Questions & Teachers’ Guide.

Jon Stratford’s Rich Maths Tasks site has extensive resources, note the Key Processes under Pedagogy includes cards to download in pupil speak.

For older students (16+) try Jonny Griffith’s RISPS (Rich Starting Points). Note he also has a companion Statistics site.