Despite the widespread use of mathematics in science, technology, engineering, etc., the study of math has somehow adopted a stigma of obsoleteness among many students. The question "When will I ever use this in real life?" pervades the classroom and haunts many a math teacher as they search for a meaningful way in which to demonstrate the usefulness of math outside of the standard word problem application. Perhaps the biggest detractor for students in seeing the immediate applications of math is that we, as educators, differentiate the subject areas so greatly. We study math, science, language, and social studies as separate entities, without reinforcing the connectedness of all the subject areas. Math is the study of numbers. Science is the study of life. English is the study of words. Social studies is the study of human interactions. What we as teachers often fail to reinforce is that we cannot study these topics thoroughly without overlapping into the other content areas. Life and work are rarely so clearly defined as just math or just English. Consequently, the best way to inspire our students to study these subjects is to use an integrated approach.
This unit is designed to integrate the study of scatter plots with the study of environmental science and public reaction. Students will not only learn how to collect data and create and analyze scatter plots, but they will also have the opportunity to see how scatter plots are used in other fields to inform others. In particular, students will look at how data can create bias.
One of the most relevant areas in today's society in which scatter plots can be utilized is in the ever-growing debate on energy. One of the first major studies to analyze the future prospects of energy resources, The Limits to Growth, was published in 1972. The authors of the book used mathematical models based on population, pollution, industrialization, food production, and resource depletion to make predictions about a supposed social collapse in the mid 21
st
century. Several updates (both 20 year and 30 year updates) of the book have been published by a few different groups, all of which verify that, following our current trends, we are still on track for social destruction in our near future.
Regardless of the validity of the predictions made in The Limits to Growth, one thing is clear: the mathematical models created and used by the authors spawned serious public debate and opened the floodgates for an era of change. Through hybrid cars, solar panels, windmills, and hydroelectric generators, the world is desperately trying to stave off an energy crisis. And if mathematical models have the power to push forward an energy revolution in real life, why not in the classroom?
