Whether you’re a football fan or not, it’s interesting to look at the history of the Super Bowl.  This math mni spark has you predicting, collecting, and displaying some data related to the Super Bowl.

Spark your math thinking!

1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #31: Super Bowl Math

2. Make some predictions.  Without looking online for the answers, predict how much a 30 second ad cost to run during the Super Bowl in the following years:  1962, 1972, 1982, 1992, 2002, 2012, 2022.  Record these predictions on your recording page.  Next to your predictions, use this site to record the actual cost for those years.

3. Why is the Super Bowl in roman numerals? Read this article to find out. Record what you learned.

4. This article talks about the geometry, angles, and statistics associated with the Super Bowl. Write a summary of each paragraph on your recording sheet.

5. Your choice Use the data and graph type you would like to show Super Bowl Data

Pictograph idea Pick 5 NFL teams and write those on the x-axis of your graph.  Using this site, record how many Super Bowls each team played in.  Use a helmet, a football, or some other picture to display the data.  Make sure to include a key for your graph (i.e. 1 football = 1 Super Bowl).

Scatter plot idea  Use the data on this site.  Use the x-axis to represent the year and the y-axis to represent the cost of a 30 second ad.  There are several tools you can use to make your graph including Numbers (app on the iPad), Create A Graph website, Scatter Plot Tool, and others.  Share your completed graph with the EY Coordinator at your building.

6. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

I found this very complex mathematical formula that allows one to figure out the day of the week any date falls on.  Don’t let the formula intimidate you!  I did this with some 3rd graders and with a few explanations, they were able to figure it out.  So can you!

Spark your math thinking!

1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #30: What day of the week is it?
2. Watch this tutorial to learn the process. Write down the formula on your recording page.  Do the math with the teacher on the page.

3. Write all of this information on your recording page. You will need this information for step 4.

4. Figure out the day of the week you were born on using your birthdate and year. Add your math steps to your recording page.

5. Grades 5 and up. Use the formula to find the day of the week for one of these dates. Do your math steps on paper.

• July 20, 1969: Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, and Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the lunar surface.
• March 10, 1876: The first telephone call was successfully made by Alexander Graham Bell, a pivotal moment in global communication history.
• April 6, 1896: The first modern Olympic Games opened in Athens, Greece, reviving the ancient Greek tradition and promoting international sport and goodwill.

6. Check this date calculator to see if you did the math correctly. How did you do on steps #4 and #5?

7. OPTIONAL: Scroll down to the bottom of this post to read about the Zeller’s Algorithm in JavaScript code that is used to find out the day of the week. Write down some patterns that you notice in the code.

8. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Check out another method to find an exact day with this math mini spark #90.

Zeller’s Algorithm in JavaScript

Zeller’s Algorithm takes year, month and day numbers and uses some basic math (+ − × ÷) and the floor function (which removes any digits after the decimal point).

This is what it looks like in JavaScript (parseInt is used instead of floor):

if (nMonth >= 3) {
	nMonth -= 2;
} else {
	nMonth += 10;
}

if ((nMonth == 11) || (nMonth == 12)) nYear--;

var nCentury = parseInt(nYear / 100);
var nYear100 = nYear % 100;

var h = 0;    // day of week number
h += parseInt(nDay);
h += parseInt((13 / 5) * nMonth - 0.2);
h += parseInt(nYear100);
h += parseInt(nYear100 / 4);
h += parseInt(nCentury / 4);
h -= parseInt(2 * nCentury);
h %= 7;

if (nYear >= 1700 && nYear <= 1751) {
	h -= 3;
} else {
	if (nYear <= 1699) h -= 4;
}

if (h < 0) h += 7;

A fractal is a never-ending pattern. Fractals are infinitely complex patterns that are self-similar across different scales. They are created by repeating a simple process over and over in an ongoing feedback loop.

Spark your math thinking!

1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #29: Fractal Fun

2. Watch this video to build your background knowledge about fractals. Record several details on your recording page.

3. Draw Sierpinski’s Triangle by watching this tutorial

4. Check out the connection between Sierpinski’s Triangle and Pascal’s Triangle by watching this video. Record notes on your recording sheet.

5. Watch this video about Fractals and write about what you learned on your recording sheet.

6. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.