Today we are in Huntsville, Alabama on our way to tour US Space and Rocket Center. We are also going to see where they made the engines for the space shuttle. Our rocket team is also presenting at the rocket science fair this afternoon. I’ll post pictures when I can. Please comment when you read this.

Tomorrow the team will be launching their rockets. You can follow the action live at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-msfc. It’s going to be very exciting. My son is on the AIAA Orange County Rocket Team.

Good morning. I am now on a bus headed to the US Space and Rocket Center. Yesterday we visited Vanderbilt University. It was very different from the University of Tennessee. It is much smaller and very clean and picturesque. The buildings look like a story book. Everyone was very nice and they have some really cool engineering opportunities including a rocket team and a Formula 1 racing team. Vanderbilt is a private university and their mascot is the Commodores.

Your question today is to find out why yet are called the Commodores and why is Tennessee the volunteers.?

Post you answers for prizes.

Good Morning Mendez Scholars,
I am here in Nashville, Tennessee. Yesterday, my son Joey and I visited the University of Tennessee. It was HUGE! My feet are killing me from all of the walking up and down the hills. The campus was really nice, a mixture of old buildings, for the early 20th century, to a brand new electrical and computer engineering building. They have some excellent programs for engineering students. One of the things we liked most most was that they place engineering students in internships with engineering firms so that students can get real work experience before they graduate.

Also, I have to mention that football is big and they have wonderful athletic facilities for both athletes and non-athletic students. The Tennessee Volunteers, Voles for short, take their football very seriously. Here is a picture of the football stadium and of the “Sun Globe.” The Sun Globe was built for the World’s Fair held here. We were told that there is a nice view of the city from the top, but we didn’t have time to go see.

I have a questions for you:
We left Knoxville, Tennessee at 3 pm and drove 3 hours to Nashville, Tennessee. We arrived at 5 pm. How is that possible?

Click on comments to submit your answers. One random student with the correct answer will receive a gift from Tennessee.

Students should use the internet file as a set of flash cards, skip the problems they know well, and focus on the problems they do not know well.  Problems can be done in any order.  Students should study for a MINIMUM OF TEN (10) MINUTES EVERY DAY, INCLUDING WEEKENDS!!!   Students with INTERNET access (via phone, iPad, iPod or home computer)

or Download file here: Mental Math Speed Review PDF

Check your Spring Break Homework – Bring all of your questions to class on Friday April 13th.

Spring Break HW

Here are some games and links to help you learn how to interpret data.

Rags to Riches: Mean, Median, Mode and Range - Just learn the 4 basic definitions it can’t be that hard or can it?

Interpreting Data

Mean, Median & Mode

Use the activities below to test your knowledge of geometry.
Identify the shapes and their attributes.
Name the shapes
Name it
Test your knowledge of Volume & Area

Practice Quiz solutions

Video: Percent of a Number

Video: Percent Increase

Question: I was shopping and wanted to buy a pair of jeans that were originally priced at $45. The sign says 20% off. What is the sale price? As I’m ready to check out, I remember that I have a coupon for 15% discount on my total purchase. What is the total price I will pay for the jeans? Don’t forget to include the 7.5% sales tax. Post your responses in the comments section.

Class Notes:

In 6th grade, you learned how to work with percents. You learned how to calculate sales tax and discounts. Here are a few games to help you review the basics.

• Matching fractions and percents
• Match up the fraction, percent & picture
• Estimating Percents
• Video Tutorial