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ERIC Number: EJ1237699
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2156-1400
EISSN: N/A
Connecting the Tangent Function to Cardinality: A Method for Introducing Set Theory to High School Students
Deihl, Steve; Markinson, Mara P.
Journal of Mathematics Education at Teachers College, v10 n2 p1-7 Fall 2019
High school students often ask questions about the nature of infinity. When contemplating what the "largest number" is, or discussing the speed of light, students bring their own ideas about infinity and asymptotes into the conversation. These are popular ideas, but formal ideas about the nature of mathematical sets, or "set theory," are generally unknown to high school students. The authors propose a method for introducing basic ideas in set theory to high school trigonometry students by connecting prior knowledge of the tangent function and the unit circle to Georg Cantor's ideas about infinity. By doing so, high school teachers have an opportunity to inspire their students with rich mathematics.
Program in Mathematics and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University. 525 West 120th Street Box 210-M, New York, NY 10027. Web site: https://jmetc.columbia.edu/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A