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This The Elliptical Pool Table: A Mathematician's Dream instructional video also includes:
Never play pool against a mathematician! An entertaining and informative video demonstrate the real-world application of ellipses and the angle of incidence with an elliptical pool table.
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CCSS:
Adaptable
Concepts
Additional Tags
Instructional Ideas
- Recreate an elliptical pool table or miniature golf station to reflect the conditions in the video
- Have learners watch the video before returning to class the next day to discuss what they have learned
- Use to open a lesson on ellipses
Classroom Considerations
- Assessment comes up right after the video ends, and it's difficult to return to the original viewing without going into fullscreen mode
Pros
- Provides discussion questions and a short assessment to check for understanding
- Fun to watch for both billiard enthusiasts and eager math students alike
- An amusing moment laments "annoying physics" as possibly impeding the mathematical experiment
Cons
- None