The absolute value (ABS) function is the positive value of a number or quantity. Its graph has a very peculiar shape, a V. Since absolute… Read more

What would you guess the absolute value of a polynomial function would look like? Try some here. I think you will be very surprised. Can… Read more

Spreadsheets offer us a nearly unlimited ability to develop and learn from case studies using real world data. We will focus mainly on climate change… Read more

Create, manipulate, and explore triangles in this live interactive spreadsheet. On the surface, a triangle is being drawn on a graph, but the real magic… Read more

What if you created a function where the exponent is a variable? As you might expect, this would be called an exponential function. When you… Read more

The GDP or Gross Domestic Product of a country is one measure of its wealth. What can this data tell us about the U.S. economy?… Read more

This problem is typical of the earliest algebra problems that likely came out of India. It is interesting historically, and it is the kind of… Read more

Which form of interest, simple or compound, is the fairest? If you were buying a house or a car which would you rather have, which… Read more

Spreadsheets make it very easy to switch axes and add graphs. They enable students to play with what may have been difficult and abstract concepts… Read more

The variables in most of the functions we are used to working with vary directly, as one goes up the other goes up. What do… Read more

Linear functions are the most important family of functions. They pervade our everyday lives and our work. Their graph is a line, and their general… Read more

We often see Lissajous figures in old sci-fi movies because they are so cool. As you play with them I think you will find them… Read more

It was one of the most amazing visions of the future ever made. In 1965 Gordon Moore, one of the founders of Intel, proposed a… Read more

George is in New York and Martha is in Washington. They leave at the same time and follow the same road to meet each other… Read more

Most museums with math exhibits have a Pascal’s triangle made up of pegs with balls falling down between them and bouncing off of them. One… Read more

Parentheses are very important in spreadsheets because like all programming, spreadsheet formulas have to be very specific. A big formula, especially one like Viete’s approximation… Read more

Another famous pattern, Pascal’s triangle, is easy to construct and explore on spreadsheets. Create a formula for any cell that adds the two cells in… Read more

Polynomial functions are not limited to the highest term and while that term is most important in determining the shape of its graph, additional terms… Read more

Let’s do a little target practice with this spreadsheet projectile simulator, which will map out the flight path of an arrow shooting toward a target.… Read more

What does each of the coefficients do? How does it change the graph of the parabola. What does a do, what does c do and… Read more

We look at world population over the past 60+ years and ask whether the earth’s population is growing faster or slower today. Is it out… Read more

Spreadsheets are not limited to algebraic functions, they can also display trigonometric functions. We are modeling the sine function, but you can try any of… Read more

When I was young I loved to play with planetary data, to explore their patterns, to learn more about astronomy, and to deal with large… Read more

Typical algebra courses start with equations and solving equations and then move to graphing and functions. We start with functions and use them to solve… Read more

I built a Lab for you to play with the Syracuse Problem and to learn to use spreadsheets to play with like problems in fun… Read more

Solving systems of equations sometimes called simultaneous equations with graphs is simply a matter of finding out where they intersect. One of the most valuable… Read more

We take that great old problem of the inventor of chess and the ruler of India and use it to see how powers of 2… Read more

What is “x”? Or how do we represent variables and functions on spreadsheets? Tweet Read more