Comments on: [3ACTS] Finals Week

By: Adam Chawansky

Adam Chawansky — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 22:49:13 +0000

Love the 3acts, Dan. Compared to traditional pedagogy, I see them as the difference between following a carefully laid trail of breadcrumbs vs. exploring a mysterious forest.

This latest 3act reminded me of an NCTM article on the metabolic decay of caffeine and alcohol. It was titled “How Long Does It Take a Person to Sober Up?” by Winston & Zunker. Might make a good extension problem for some high school students.

One last note: I recall a problem-based assessment about exponential decay where a hypothetical student was taking Adderall to cram for the SAT but had a drug test for an athletic team the following week. The problem was to determine whether the drug’s concentration would be below detectable thresholds in time.

By: Alice Wise

Alice Wise — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 00:06:51 +0000

Hey Dan!

I’m a student attending the University of South Alabama! I really like this mini-project, because it’s so relevant in this day and age! Even as a college student, I’m curious. In addition, it seems like a very dynamic project with endless variations (ie you could do just soft drinks or go a healthier route with tea). So many variables, so little time, right?

Love the posts, and I hope to read more from you!

-Alice

By: Dan Meyer

Dan Meyer — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 19:20:18 +0000

Yeah, good question. I’ve gotta fix that. It’s Mountain Dew.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 17:59:05 +0000

So what is the type of drink in the Double Gulp?

By: Dan Meyer

Dan Meyer — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 20:37:06 +0000

Yeah, I’d like some confirmation on that, but I suspect you’re right.

By: Jay

Jay — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 20:28:50 +0000

Regarding act three, wouldn’t the amount of caffeine be the measure for how much “awake time” you’d get, not the concentration? Same thing with the “bang per buck” measure, I would think the more interesting ratio would be milligrams per dollar.