Paige Laurain, Math, West Charlotte High School
Synopsis
This curriculum unit will have students explore some of the current ways conservationists use technology and mathematics to protect endangered species. Students will start by identifying what an animal’s home range is, and how we can use properties of circles to interpret it. Students will then practice flying drones, and analyze how drones are currently being used to stop poachers by applying properties and theorems of circles. They will hypothesize what other forms of technology could be used to support conservation efforts, and how. This unit focuses on three species explicitly; the rhino, elephant, and tiger. These animals were selected because they are all endangered, and technology is currently being utilized in some way to protect them. Students will apply Math 3 concepts such as area of a sector, arc length, equations of circles, angles within a circle, and segments within a circle to anticipate how to protect an endangered species and conserve its home range. At the end of the unit, students will choose an additional endangered species, identify what is currently is being done to protect it, and suggest alternative ways to use technology to save it. Students will also determine how to best protect an animal’s environment. Lastly, students will use the animal’s daily travel range and the range a drone can travel to identify how many drones would be needed to protect that species in its natural environment.
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