Mathematicians Research Project

Mathematicians and Careers Research Project

Instructions:
Students will create two books, researching six mathematicians or six careers each semester. They must use the attached list of assigned careers and mathematicians. The students must turn in their research in book form each semester. Students may use a pocket portfolio with brass clips, a ½ -inch binder, or a transparent report cover as covers of their books. The pages must be attached to its cover; they must not shake loose.
1. Each mathematician and each career must be completed on a separate piece of paper.   You
     may continue a report on the back, but always start the next report on a new page.
2. Pages may be handwritten or typed neatly. They must be double-spaced.
3. On the top line, write the name of the mathematician or career.
4. Body of research must include at least 3 paragraphs, with at least 5 sentences each. The
     body must cover the required topics listed below and on the score sheet.
5. Use appropriate grammar, watch for spelling and punctuation mistakes, and don’t use
     run-ons or fragments.
6. Each report must be followed by 2 bibliographic sources. Write them in the correct format.
     For more detailed examples of citing sources click here.

Include these topics:

for Mathematicians: (include specific info. listed in parentheses)
Birth/death dates, nationality (country of origin), schooling [elementary (public, private
tutoring, or self-taught?) After grade school (university, association, teaching)], contributions to math (at least 3): specific math topics that the mathematician studied (explain what these topics mean), famous math writings he/she published (what math topic did the book talk about?), theories or discoveries that the mathematicians created (explain importance).

For Careers: (5 pts. for each underlined part & for specific, parenthetic info.
Specific duties or responsibilities of career (at least 3), job training after high school
(how many years of training, in what subject/degree area, where–university, training, on-
site–could be more than one), formula used by career (variable equation, variable description,
how does career use this formula), original problem situation (a complete, solvable word problem–it must use the formula in that career situation, don’t include solution) You may obtain your formula off the Math at Work page on this site, Bear Mathematics. However, you must make up your own problem; do not copy mine.

Deadlines–One report book is due during class on Midterm Exam; the other during the first class of May. Check your assignment sheet to see whether the careers or the mathematicians are due first. This deadlines are absolute and due during class. (All late ones will earn 0%). If
the students wish to earn 20 bonus points, then they must turn in the research assignment at least 1 week earlier than the stated deadline. When students turn in their research books, they must insert a score sheet, filling out their name, date, semester, (-10%) Copies of the
score sheets are available under my assignment basket.

The Cover–You must design a cover for your book. Your cover must be math-related only, indicate that it includes mathematicians or career info., have an original title (no one else has same title), be colored, & have pictures.

The Bibliographies--Each report must have 2 bibliographic sources. The bibliography page must follow directly after each report. The bibliography must be in the correct format. See your English teacher, the librarian, or click here for proper formats. (More details on bibliographies or see here) Your sources may include magazines, encyclopedias, books, or 1 Internet site (per report) that references an educational institution or book/magazine source. YOU MAY NOT USE "ASK JEEVES" or other search engines AS A SOURCE.

Some links to websites to research this material

MacTutor history site has some history articles and mathematician biographies.
The Occupational Handbook has information about job responsibilities, training, and salary for various careers.
More Links on my web resources page

See List of Assignments and Deadlines
See Sample Score Sheet