Spotted on my Facebook newsfeed: New Year’s resolution to save, based on this blog post, which shows a money challenge that results in an extra $1378 at the end of the year. Source: http://www.lifeasyouliveit.blogspot.ro/2013/07/52-week-money-challenge-update.html Source: http://www.goodshomedesign.com/52-week-money-saving-challenge/ The original blog post comments have become a flame war of sorts. Folks call $1378 practically nothing and others pipe up to defend saving at all. There are arguments about luxuries versus necessities. Some say that putting money in bank accounts is stupid. However, there are some comments that could spark a discussion related to arithmetic sequences and series and the feasibility of doing these savings challenges in real life: 1) “I’d think it…
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The Cost of College
One of the syllabus topics in IB Math Studies is financial mathematics. I teach this unit in 12th grade (right around the time of college applications). This year I had the students research a college to which they are applying so that they could examine costs of college using the math they have learned (particularly inflation and compound interest). I wish I’d been able to include more of the topics (depreciation, currency conversion, simple interest, loan repayment tables). How Much Will College Cost Me? The goal of this project is to prepare you for the costs of college life. After high school graduation, it will be very important to keep…