Someone has been murdered! Or at least in the AP Calculus and AB classes of Brian Wood and Katie Allison, that appears to be the case. The murder mystery is an event that has been happening for the past five years where the mystery of who “killed” Mr. Wood has continued to grow with each passing year. In order to determine who the “killer” is, each group of students are given a packet with a group of suspects that must be limited down until one remains, the person who “killed” Mr. Wood.
The math is seen with the use of Newton’s Law of Heating and Cooling, it’s with this law that students are able to determine the time of death. From there, they’re able to limit which teachers were at the scene of the crime with the information given to them in regards to possible motive, weapon, the time they left the school and any additional information that might be helpful. Once determined the suspect can then be detained by the students simply walking in the classroom and arresting them.
This mystery always seems to be something that several enjoy for their last chapter in Calculus before the AP exam in May.
“I thought it was really fun to do something different in class, especially since it’s a math class and it was a more laid back assignment,” Senior Janey Galligan said. “It was a fun way to end what we are learning in class.”
Galligan is not the only one who feels this way, Senior Gino Fornaro also enjoys the less stressful environment.
“It was still kind of a test because you had to get right answers, but the good thing was that you could check in and make sure your answers were correct,” Fornaro said. “There really was no stress that went with it.”
Several groups of students in the end successfully found the murderer, Brett Whitlow, and helped find justice for Brian Wood’s “murder” and at the same time had the opportunity to apply their math knowledge while having a fun time.
