Grass for Goats (The Silo Version)
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The Grazing Goat problem, familiar to many teachers and students, has several variations. The version presented here provides a rich opportunity for engaging students in a project spanning several weeks. Three solutions are discussed: one suitable for a calculus class, one suitable for a geometry class, and one suitable for a precalculus class. Although we start with a calculus approach, most of the article uses only algebra and geometry concepts. Also discussed are the didactics of using projects to open ever-larger fields of mathematics to students.
Footnotes
Edited by Maurice Burke, Maurice.Burke@utsa.edu University of Texas at San Antonio
J. Kevin Colligan, jkcolligan@verizon.net SRA International, Columbia, MD (retired)
Maria Fung, mfung@worcester.edu Worcester State College, Worcester, MA
Jeffrey J. Wanko, wankojj@muohio.edu Miami University, Oxford, OH
Contributor Notes
Rick Havens, rickhavens@embarqmail.com, taught high school mathematics for the Jefferson Area Schools in Jefferson, Ohio, for forty years. He is a math coach for the Formative Assessment for the Middle School (FAMS) project sponsored by the Ohio Department of Education.
