Here you can find resources that explains what education and technology are all about and how you can learn about how educational toys can help your child grow.

Also, we information on what edutainment toys will help the best. MORE >

Why Study Math The Parabola

As we continue the "Why Study Math" series of articles, here we look at the conic section called the parabola. The parabola is obtained by slicing a nap of the cone (see the other articles in this series on this point) with a plane parallel to one of the generators of the cone. In plain English, this means the following: take a cone made out of styrofoam; draw a line from the apex, or point, straight down to the base; on the opposite side of this line, slice the cone with a knife, starting midway down from the top, and such that the cut is made parallel to the line on the opposite side. The resulting cut produces a shape called the parabola. The parabola is first encountered by students in their study of high school algebra. They learn that the parabola is the curve that is produced by graphing any quadratic or second-degree equation.

Unfortunately, students get bogged down by all the methods of solving these equations, and then by the necessity to sketch the graphs; alas they never get to learn the practical applications. This is a common problem in the study of mathematics. Students get lost in the forest and cannot see the trees. What students are not taught often enough is that parabolas occur frequently in the real world.

They just need to open their eyes. For example, the parabola can be seen most visibly when looking up at a suspension bridge. The trace formed by the cables as they suspend from the highest point to the lowest is in the shape of a parabola. During a basketball game, the shots taken by the players trace out a parabola in the air. In fact, this is probably one of the most common applications of the parabola: projectile motion.

Any body thrown in space, moving under the force of a gravitational field and without the influence of air resistance, traces out a parabola. In addition to the applications mentioned above, parabolic surfaces called paraboloids figure in optics and other technological applications. Reflectors and satellite dishes are in the shape of parabolic surfaces. The headlamps of your car are in this shape as well.

In fact the bulb is placed at a special point called the focus of the parabola. An interesting thing to point out is that when you are driving on that dark country road and have your brights on, it is the parabolic surface of your headlamp reflectors that enable you to see further ahead. Remember that when you are trying to see whether deer are crossing ahead. Till next time. .

By: Joe Pagano

Early Childhood Education

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Here you can find resources that explains what education and technology are all about and how you can learn about how educational toys can help your child grow. Also, we information on what edutainment toys will help the best. MORE >	Why Study Math The Parabola As we continue the "Why Study Math" series of articles, here we look at the conic section called the parabola. The parabola is obtained by slicing a nap of the cone (see the other articles in this series on this point) with a plane parallel to one of the generators of the cone. In plain English, this means the following: take a cone made out of styrofoam; draw a line from the apex, or point, straight down to the base; on the opposite side of this line, slice the cone with a knife, starting midway down from the top, and such that the cut is made parallel to the line on the opposite side. The resulting cut produces a shape called the parabola. The parabola is first encountered by students in their study of high school algebra. They learn that the parabola is the curve that is produced by graphing any quadratic or second-degree equation. Unfortunately, students get bogged down by all the methods of solving these equations, and then by the necessity to sketch the graphs; alas they never get to learn the practical applications. This is a common problem in the study of mathematics. Students get lost in the forest and cannot see the trees. What students are not taught often enough is that parabolas occur frequently in the real world. They just need to open their eyes. For example, the parabola can be seen most visibly when looking up at a suspension bridge. The trace formed by the cables as they suspend from the highest point to the lowest is in the shape of a parabola. During a basketball game, the shots taken by the players trace out a parabola in the air. In fact, this is probably one of the most common applications of the parabola: projectile motion. Any body thrown in space, moving under the force of a gravitational field and without the influence of air resistance, traces out a parabola. In addition to the applications mentioned above, parabolic surfaces called paraboloids figure in optics and other technological applications. Reflectors and satellite dishes are in the shape of parabolic surfaces. The headlamps of your car are in this shape as well. In fact the bulb is placed at a special point called the focus of the parabola. An interesting thing to point out is that when you are driving on that dark country road and have your brights on, it is the parabolic surface of your headlamp reflectors that enable you to see further ahead. Remember that when you are trying to see whether deer are crossing ahead. Till next time. . By: Joe Pagano Early Childhood Education Military Defense Weapon Trends for - In 2005 we saw the Unmanned Aerial Surveillance Vehicles prove their worth as they continued to earn the keep in the battlespace in the Middle East; both in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Moon Base Now What Did We Learn From Apollo - Some at NASA want to screw around and stretch out the lunar schedule and maybe do something worthwhile by 2020? Why wait? You see the way I see it is that; Time is of the essence. Why Are NASA Probes Changing Speed As They Leave Our Solar System - It seems that our space probes end up changing speeds as they leave our solar system, but why? Is space less dense there? Is the energy of our solar system creating wake in deep space as it moves? Is it because the gravity of our Sun has released. Do Swarming Insects Use Sound to Aid in Flight - At least a some researchers believe that Bees use sound especially during swarming to aid in their flight? Could this be possible? One online think tank believes it is and it has been debated and reasoned that the bees are perhaps much more highly. Lunar Mining Colony and Robotic Equipment Cleaning Needs - In the future, near future within a decade or two, mankind will begin to mine the moon and in doing so he will have to deal with that local environment and its unusual requirements. more...