Free Online Calculators - Calkoo

Hi All,

Who doesn't need a calculator?  They are free, fast to use and accurate. And now with the internet you use a free calculator instantaneously. 

A website called Calkoo (I haven't foggiest as to why that's it's name!) has various calculators in many of the major languages (think English, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Chinese). 

At the top of the page is a list of the top 5 most use calculators.  There are also calculators on topics as varies as Taxes, Date and Time, Financial Analysis, Stock Analysis, Loan and Leasing, Measurement, basic mathematics, Health and Fitness topics. 

One you click on a particular calculator a new page appears.  You need to enter the required information and the calculator does the rest - the statistic is calculated. 

Done and done!

Enjoy the site and the calculators.
Regards,
Stu

Even More Numbers

Hi All,

In keeping with the last post of titled "What About That Number?" todays' blog entry deals with numbers.  Specifically big, big, big numbers.

The link to the '10 Enormous Numbers' come from Listverse back in 2012.  The publish date might be old but the content is not!  Numbers like a googol, googolplex and Skewe's number.

Some links to other large numbers:
Wikipedia - Astronomically Large Numbers 
Knuth's up-arrow notation 
Wolfram MathWorld - Large Numbers

Enjoy,
Stu 

What About That Number?

Hi All,

Its all about numbers today - lots of numbers. Numberempire.com is a site that can help you learn about the various mathematical characteristics of a particular number. 



For example, on the site you can:

1. find divisors
2. number of divisors
3. find out if the number is a prime number
4. find out if the number is a Fibonacci number
5. Whether or not the number is a perfect number
6. What the binary and octal equivalent of the number is
7. What the square root of the number is
8. What the sine, cosine and tangent of the number is

So now that you've visited the site, you probably realize that its more of a reference type site than a site you visit on a daily basis for pleasure...pass it along to the math whiz in our family or somebody who just likes to play around with numbers. 

Enjoy the site and the numbers....

Regards,
Stu

Khan Academy - Educational site for Students

Hi All,

You might have heard about it, or read about it...its a very valuable, free, educational website for students from 1st grade to college!  What is it you ask?

Khan Academy. Khan Academy's mission is to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere.  Now that's a broad, ambitious goal...but check out the site and the various topics they cover.  You'll be impressed with the coverage and broad array of topics available for study.

Subjects covered at the Khan Academy include Math, Science, Economics/Finance, Arts/Humanities, Computing, Tes Preparation, College Admissions and Coach resources. But wait, there's more.  Subjects are available for students from Kindergarten all the way up to the college level. 

Specific topics run the gamut of geometry, algebra, calculus, linear algebra, microeconomics, biology, chemistry, physics, art history basics, computer programming, SAT, MCAT, GMAT preparation and much,much more. 

Once users sign on to the site and choose the topic they navigate there way to videos that will explain the topic or the problem(s) that they are interested in.   Also, community questions are available for students to review and question answers are readily available for students.

More than likely, users will get the best possible experience from the Khan Academy by logging in and creating a free account. ,

Khan Academy partners include Dartmough College, The Aspen Institute, MIT+K12, NASA, The Brookings Institution, Pixar in a Box and NOVA Labs. 

Finally, for more information, click on this link for the Khan Academy blog.

Enjoy the site - and I hope it helps you to get better grades in school!

Regards,
Stu

Happy Pi Day!

Hi All,

Happy Pi Day!  No, I'm not talking about Boston Creme Pie or Apple Pie...I'm talking about Pi - as in 3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510582094...

Click on this link from Cnet that started me on this whole Pi Day entry!

Click here for a link that will give you the first 100,000 digits of Pi.
Click here for a link that will give you the first million digits of Pi. 

Click on this link from Wikipedia about Pi - you'll learn about the history of pi and how Pi Day is observed around the world.  

Exploratorium has an extensive and comprehensive website regarding Pi Day. Included on the page are Photos of Pi Day Events, Schedule of Events, Activities and Links, Pi in Second Life and a Brief History of Pi.  Click on any of the above links to go that part of Exploratorium related to Pi.

There are dozens and dozens of website that discuss and mention either Pi or Pi Day...click on this link for just one of the many that are accessible on the web - and which are fun to peruse and read...

And finally, click on this link for Apple Pie recipes from AllRecipes.com.

Enjoy the links!

Regards,
Stu

The Why Files...

Hi All,

You probably have heard of the 'X-Files' but have you heard of the 'Why Files?'  Yep - I didn't think so.  So what does the 'Why Files' do for you?

The site bills itself as 'The Science Behind the News' - and indeed that's just what the site provides.  On the first page of the site are articles about 'Roads" Helpful Here, Harmful There', 'Science Teachers: Hip Yourself to a Great Resource' and a link to 'Tornado Prediction'.  Interesting stuff to be sure.

But wait, there's more.

Click on this link for a page full of Classroom Activities. Teachers can get information about stem cells, learn about forensic science of bugs, maggots and DNA, and inquire about polar science. 

As usual, users can search the 'Why Files' using a search box at the right side of the of homepage.  And there is a section titled, 'In the News' on the homepage which covers current events related to topics in science.  Topics include the environment, endangered species, weather, geography, physics, biology, forensic science, archaeology, climatology, and more. 

Site usability is great - links go where they are supposed to go and the site itself is simple to navigate.  Site design is crisp, linear and attractive.

Enjoy the site.
Stu

Science Daily - science news

Hi All, 

Just wanted to give readers a heads up on an interesting science news website called ScienceDaily.  Click here for the link. 

What does the site include?  Well, its current and timely news articles related to the sciences.  There are links for subjects like Health and Medicine, the Mind and Brain, Plants and Animals, the Earth and Climate, Space and Time, Matter and Energy, Computers and Math, and, finally, Fossils and Ruins.  Each of the aforementioned subjects can be reached by clicking the previous link.

Also available on the site are links to videos, images and articles.  There is also a search box at the top right side of the page which is very helpful for users who just want to type in a phrase that doesn't correspond to the subject headings that I previously listed. 

Users can also get all of ScienceDaily's headlines sent to them every day via the Science Daily RSS newsfeed or the Email newsletter.  Note that users will have to subscribe to a specific subjects' RSS feed or Email newsletter in order to receive the headlines.  Aka...users can't just get a summary of all ScienceDaily's articles on a daily basis.  

Site isn't as well designed as it could be - there are too many advertisements and the site is a bit cluttered. But...that's a small price to pay for a current, topical, relevant website that covers 'non-mainstream' topics like science and technology. 

Enjoy the site!

Stu

Happy Pi Day!

Hi All,

What the heck does the title of this post mean? Indeed, if you remember today's date...

Today is March 14th; which equates to 3/14. Which are the first few digits of 'pi'. Click here to find out a bit about Piday.

And they've come out with Piday images - click here for those pix.

Celebrate Pi day with Reddit Math and Apple Pie - click here.

And there's even more from Squidoo - click here to learn more.

Here are a few other ways to celebrate Pi Day.

Enjoy the links.

Stu

Art and Computers and Math - Combined

Hi All,

What happens when you combine art, computer graphics, and math...shake them all up and then print the results?

Fractals. That's what happens. Let me start at the beginning.

Click here for a description of what a fractal is - link is from Wikipedia. Basically a fractal is a geometric shape that can be split into its indivdual parts. The parts of the shape being a smaller and smaller sizec opy of the whole shape. Click here for an example from the Wikipedia article.

So, now that you know what a fractal is, why are they interesting? Because of the geometic designs that can be generated. Click here for a simple Google search using the phrase, 'fractal art'. Once I entered the result and generated the results, I clicked on the 'Images' link on Google. Click here for the results.

Notice the different colors, shapes, designs, backgrounds and more in these photos. Cool stuff, eh?

So, now what? Well, if you like to use a computer, enjoy a bit of math and like 'things artistic', you might want to download and install some fractal software so you can generate your own images.

Click here for a link from Cool Math.com - you'll be able to make your own fractals using their software. Still want more fractal software to generate your own pictures? Click here for a link from Easy Fractal Generator. Note that the EFG has links to popular and new fractals that users have generated.

Finally, click here for another fractal science kit generator...aka another downloadable piece of software so you can make your own fractal designs.

Just some thoughts for those who like art, design, computers and pictures. Enjoy the fractals - and just think, at the very least you might have learned a new word today.

Enjoy.
Stu

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