Capturing Conic Sections with Digital Cameras

My goal is for students to be active participants in and take ownership of their learning. Students will appreciate the connections between mathematics and the world around them.

California State Standard for Algebra 2:
16.0 Students demonstrate and explain how the geometry of the graph of a conic section (e.g., asymptotes, foci, eccentricity) depends on the coefficients of the quadratic equation representing it.

First, students will be introduced to the four kinds of conic sections. Students will learn the formal coordinate geometry definition of the four conic sections, parabolas, circles, ellipses, and hyperbolas. Students will be introduced to the important parts of the graph of each conic section.

Students will then check out digital cameras and be tasked with finding examples of each conic section in their community. For example, satellite dishes are examples of parabolas. Students will be instructed in the use of the digital camera’s photo-editing software so that they can lay a coordinate grid over their pictures and write the equations for the conic sections they found out in the real world

Students will also be instructed in the use of movie editing and animation software that they will use to create a digital narrative. In their digital narrative, students will explain how they found the examples of conic sections in their communities, what they learned when they wrote the equations for those examples, and how mathematics is used in other fields. At the end of the project, students will present their digital narratives during an after school “film festival.” Parents, students, teachers, and community members will be invited to attend the film festival.