Sam H. Jones
The power function, in function notation, takes the form f(x) = x
a
, where a is a constant real number. This function will be used to show the relationship between total number of neurons and brain diameter.
The diameter of a neuron ranges in size from 4 microns to 100 microns. (http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/facts.html#neuron) Using the equation for the volume of a sphere, V = (4/3)*Π*r
3
, and an average neuron size of 50 microns (1 micron = one millionth of a meter) , students will calculate brains size based upon 100,000 neurons up to 100,000,000,000 neurons. Figure 2 are graphs of power functions.
Figure 2. source: Wikimedia
