-- HUMMINGBIRD MATHEMATICS ACTIVITIES --

Too often, mathematics is taught in a vacuum and students fail to see relevance between math and everyday life. Through Operation RubyThroat, math can be integrated with science, reading, logic, and other basic skills in ways that will excite students on a daily basis. Those classes or students that are involved in observations of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) or that undertake a research project that deals with the species will collect data that can be manipulated, graphed, and interpreted; these are all skills that need to be mastered so students can forward in math comprehension. There's much to be learned about hummingbirds, and mathematical analysis often helps us understand what we have seen in the hummingbird garden or at the feeder.

We hope you'll want to share your original hummingbird math work through publication on Operation RubyThroat. If so, contact PROJECTS.

In the meantime, here are some ideas for teachers, students, and other individuals to try.

Teachers and their student groups, individual students, and others who are registered participants with Operation RubyThroat get priority attention to all requests for information and assistance. To register, see How to Participate.

Look at the section of Operation RubyThroat that lists amazing Hummingbird Facts. From it you and your students can develop some interesting word problems that polish their math skills while helping them learn about the science of hummingbirds. In addition, as they search the page for the information they need to formulate the problems, they also improve their reading, their logic, and their ability to use the Internet. Here is an example:

• What is the heart rate of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) at rest?
• How many times would a resting hummingbird's heart beat in a class period? In a 24-hour day? Week? Month? Year? In a Ruby-throated Hummingbird's average lifetime?
• What is a student's heart rate while at rest? (Have each student take his/her pulse for 15 seconds and multiply by four; the average for the class will be around 70-75, depending on age.)
• Which has a faster heart rate, the hummingbird or the student? How many times faster?
• What is the heart rate of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird while flying?
• How many times faster does the hummingbird's heart beat while flying?
• How many times is the hummingbird's heart likely to beat as it flies across the Gulf of Mexico (assuming a constant speed and no major headwinds)?

ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES: Math (including measurement), geography, human anatomy& physiology--plus hummingbird science.

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES: Logical-Mathematical, Linguistic

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