1 - Derive 6

The Publisher states that Derive 6 is an excellent mathematical assistant for your computer.  It processes algebraic variables, expressions, equations, functions, vectors and matrices. It performs algebraic, numerical and graphical computations, enabling students to appreciate the underlying structure of mathematics and work at problem solving.  The results can be plotted as 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional graphs, enabling different approaches to problem solving. 

It is more powerful and easier to use than previous editions, Derive 6 enables one to:

• Display the steps in the simplification of an expression along with the transformation rules applied
• Send and receive math worksheets to and from the TI-89, TI-89 Titanium, TI-92 Plus, and Voyage 200 graphing calculators
• Animate parameterized expression plots with slider bars
• Automatically label plots showing the expression being plotted
• Rotate 3-dimensional plots using the mouse

Personal Advantages

There are several features that I found of interest, ones that I could easily use in my classrooms.  Some of these are:

• Great for preparing worksheets.  The ability to place graphs in the worksheet is a plus.
• Students can save their work or print out a hard copy so they have a record of what they have done.
• You can type in an equation and then apply operations such as factoring and solving.
• You can choose to see what steps have been used in the simplification of an expression.
• Teachers could use it for whole-class demonstrations with a projector.
• The lack of onscreen text makes the product more suitable for students since the sight of too much text causes them to lose interest.
• Can be used for transformations of graphs.
• Solve matrices.
• Produce both 2-dimensional and 3-dimesional graphs.

System Requirements

Microsoft Windows XP or 2000, and 10MB free disk space.

The package also comes with Derive 5 that will run on Windows ME or 98 with CD ROM drive and Internet Explorer 5.0 or greater installed. 

I found it necessary to use the program a bit to feel comfortable with it.  In fact, at the start I found it very confusing to use and the help files were not much help.  I decided to access the tutorial files that are provided on the product homepage.  You can access the site through the help section of the program.  The tutorial files are in pdf format and can be downloaded for later use.

2 - WinPlot

Winplot is a graphing program written by Richard Parris, a teacher at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire. Mr. Parris generously allows free copying and distribution of the software, and provides frequent updates. The latest version can be downloaded from the website

http://math.exeter.edu/rparris/winplot.html

I found that this was an extremely interesting piece of software.  I took the opportunity to create various pictures using the graphing capability of the program.  Students can be much more creative than I was.  Below are some samples of mine and instructions on how to create them.

Dominos Pizza Logo

Note:    This was my first attempt at creating a picture using a program such as Winplot.  The version of WinPlot that I downloaded did not appear to have the shading option (it was not available in the misc pulldown menu).  As a result I ended up pasting the image into Microsoft Paint and completed the shading there.

1.                  Construct the blue rectangle

a.       y = x + 3; -8.500000 <= x <= 7.500000

b.      y = x - 12; -1.000000 <= x <= 15.000000

c.       y = -1x - 14; -8.500000 <= x <= -1.000000

d.      y = -x + 18; 7.500000 <= x <= 15.000000

2.                  One of the red squares

a.       y = -1x - 14; -16.500000 <= x <= -9.000000

b.      y = x + 4; -9.000000 <= x <= -1.500000

c.       y = x + 19; -16.500000 <= x <= -9.000000

d.      y = -1x +1; -9.000000 <= x <= -1.500000

3.                  The second red square

a.       y = x + 4; -1.000000 <= x <= 7.000000

b.      y = -x +2; -8.500000 <= x <= -1.000000

c.       y = -x +18; -0.500000 <= x <= 7.000000

d.      y = x + 19; -8.500000 <= x <= -0.500000

4.                  Three Circles

a.       (x + 12)^2 + (y - 2)^2=4

b.      (x + 6)^2 + (y - 2)^2=4

c.       (x + .5)^2 + (y - 10)^2=4

5.                  Text – To add the text I used a font size of 40 and had to tilt it 45 degrees.

McDonald’s Arches

I though this one would be rather simple since it was just a collection of parabolas.  However, getting them to line up properly was not easy.  I used the following equations

a.       y = -(x+2)^2 +3; -4.500000 <= x <= 0.000000

b.      y = -(x+2)^2 +6; -5.000000 <= x <= 0.000000

c.       y = -(x-2)^2 +6; 0.000000 <= x <= 5.000000

d.      seg (-5,-3) to (-4.5,-3)

e.       seg (4.5,-3) to (5,-3)

Note:    For the shading I again had to use Microsoft Paint.

This seems like an activity students would enjoy.  It is rather challenging to complete (as I quickly learned) but still very interesting.  Students can use the mathematics they have learned already and can request further assistance if they need to incorporate something new.

3 - WinStats

WinStats is also written by Mr. Richard Parris of Peanut Software, and distributed for free. His main goal starting out was to allow schools access to graphing software at a good price which, in his mind, was free.