Math in Secret

Before I came to the Academy as a shy sixth grader wanting to dive head first into good grades and new friendships, I use to dance. I would spend all my time talking about dance, watching dance and even dreaming about dance. I was obsessed! When I started dance ten years ago, I didn't think it had anything to do with math. I thought how good you could get relied on how skilled you were and the amount of practice and passion you were willing to dedicate to it. Once I got older, I realized that yes, that was 50% of it. The other 50% relied on math! I started seeing the similarities between math and dance. Dance is based on angles and formations...same as math! For example: when leaping through the air, you want to spread your legs at a perfect 180 degree angle. When turning, you could do a quarter turn (25 degrees) a half turn (50 degrees) and even a full turn (360 degrees). Once I started seeing the connections, I could apply them. Once I was able to apply them, I noticed my leaps were getting better (and prettier) and my turns were getting faster and more precise.

Sadly, I quit dance for four years. Just recently I started back up and the connection with math is still there. I was surprised because now I have a better understanding of all these relations (and what they mean) so I am able to apply them better. And hey, now I'm as good as I use to be!

9%

Grade, slopes and percents don't necessarily the same meaning, but definitely center around one main objective: to reach a goal. Even though grade slope and percents don't mean the same, they are still all connected. Slope can be defined as rise over run, or in the case of a road, vertical distance over the horizontal distance. The higher the grade, the steepness of the slope increases and the higher the percentage is for that slope. One can relate this to sine function of trigonometry. This is the best function to use because one can still find the slope of a road without having to know a horizontal distance. To relate this to what we are learning in math, you can find the horizontal run of a right triangle using sine if you know the angle and divide opposite side of the triangle by the hypotenuse (which is the rise).

The grade can effect a slope, which can end up altering the percent, by the amount of effort put in to keeping the slope going. In real life, a grade depends on the amount of effort is put into the slope (or test). If it is clear that one doesn't care and didn't study, they will receive a lower grade (percent) vs. the person who spent countless hours the night before.