"The
Math of One Million"
Questions:
How many is one million?
What does one million look
like?
How long will it take to
collect one million? At what rate? Is this practical?
How many bottles will it
take to hold one million?
How much does one million
weigh?
If we stacked one million
on top of each other, how high would the stack rise?
If we lined one million
up side-by-side, how far would the line extend?
How can the bank help us
in our quest?
These
are just a few of the mathematical questions inspired by the "Math of One
Million" project at Ladywood High School
begun in January of 2004. The concept was simple; Collect one million
United States cent pieces, called "pennies", and donate the proceeds to
the American Cancer
Society. In the process (which could be considerably long since
one milllion "pennies" is $10,000) a variety of mathematical questions
could be considered given this "practical" situation. The goal is
to complete the project by the time the Ladywood class of 2007 graduates.
The inspiration came from the efforts of several other Ladywood faculty
and students who had already raised money for various causes by December
of 2003. This empty coca-cola "bank" spotted while Christmas shopping
sealed the deal.
Thus our quest began and
we hope to measure our progress on this web site. We use this bottle
bank to store our "pennies" while accepting silver coins as well, which
will be exchanged at the bank for pennies. The students in Algebra
I will guess how many pennies our "bank" will hold while the AP
Calculus students will be able to give us a better approximation in
less than a month using the volume of a rotated solid. Once the bottle
is filled, we will find out the true answer, deposit the money in the bank
and start anew.
Fast facts
about "pennies":
History:
The penny was first authorized
to be minted by the government in 1787, with Benjamin Franklin suggesting
its original design. Paul Revere, a noted blacksmith, supplied some of
the copper for the one cent coins minted during the 1790's.
In 1909, Abraham Lincoln was the first historical figure to grace a U.S.
coin when he was portrayed on the one-cent coin to commemorate his 100th
birthday. The Lincoln penny was also the first U.S. cent to include the
words "In God We Trust."
Source: Americans
for Common Sense
Why are they called
"pennies"?
The word "penny" is derived
from the British coin pence.
Source: Americans
for Common Sense
What is a "pennies'"
diameter?
.75 inches or 3 / 4 of
an inch
Source: Penny
Project
How thick is a penny?
.0625 inches or 1 / 16
of an inch
Source: Penny
Project
How much does a "penny"
weigh?
.1 ounces of 1 / 10 of
an ounce
Source: Penny
Project
Where are "pennies"
made?
The U.S. Mint produces
between 10 billion to 13 billion pennies annually to meet broad public
demand. An average of 1,040 pennies are produced every second, adding up
to 30 million a day.
Source: Americans
for Common Sense
How many "pennies" does
a typical bank store?
Here