Interactive Animated Spreadsheets: A Powerful Tool for Simulations

Scott A. Sinex

Prince George’s Community College

Presented at 194th 2YC3 Conference at Montgomery College, Rockville, MD on 11-12 November 2011

Why spreadsheets?

• Easy access for students and teachers and useful for them to know

• Easy for instructors to develop – see Developer’s Guide to Excelets

• Creates an engaging pedagogy in math and the sciences

…more why?• Addresses topics conceptually, while

camouflaging mathematics– Students have to think:

predict - test - analyze …and explain

• Allows for mathematical modeling and studying errors– More science process– More multivariable approach– Mathematics resurfaces!!!!

Seriously lacking in our textbooks!!!

The big picture…

Multiple representations

A multivariable approach

For today…

• Explore the almost endless possibilities…

• Examine “how to” use in the classroom to get student’s investigating and thinking

• This afternoon – build a multivariable simulation of Boyle’s Law

…and now

excelets

http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets

Let’s examine…

• Periodic trends

• Vibrations in solids

• Kinetics and chemical equilibrium

• Radioactive dating

• Investigate - Burning a Virtual Candle

http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets/radii_comparison.xls

How does the size of an atom vary on the periodic table?

Simple data bases for students to discover relationships

What about periodic trends?

http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets/PT_interactive.xls

Na

Na+ why so high?

Are bond lengths constant?

http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets/vibration_solid.xls

Simple animations add value

Enzyme Kinetics

http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets/enzyme_kinetics.xls

Investigate multivariable models

Discover the common ion effect

by adding HCl

decreasing nitrite

increasing undissociated HNO2

http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/A_B_Behavior.ppt

Radiometric Dating - How old is a rock sample?

Multiple representations!1 + D/P = ekt

symbolic

http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets/age_dating.xls

How does a burning candle behave?

http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets/burning_candles.xls

Here we collect the data by clicking the up arrow on the spinner.

…adding error to the data

Scatter is added to the data by increasing random error.

=E6+$K$7*RANDBETWEEN(-10,10)/10+$G$10

The circled scroll bar controls the size of random variation.

Burning candle…

• The activity including notes to the instructors–

http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets/burning_candles_act.pdf

• The Excelet –http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets/

burning_candles.xls

More info

• Scott Sinex ssinex@pgcc.edu http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex

• Google: excelets

• My thanks to NSF

Thanks for attending