• Here is what you need for an introduction to Chaos Theory.  This is a topic that we traditionally cover after the AP Calculus Exam at SRHS.  It's an ideal topic to cover after the AP Exam, because it's a very contemporary topic in Mathematics but it is still very accessible (the most difficult prerequisite work is factoring a quadratic and graphing a parabola, and even then we don't do much of that).  I think it's an important topic to at least have some awareness of and many of you may find it to be something that you want to read / learn about more on your own or in a college course.
  • In class we would be working a lot together and completing explorations on our graphing calculators, followed by an exam.  For this year I've assembled the best introductory materials I could find from home.  I'm asking you to read/watch each of the materials linked below and write a response.  I've kept each of them relatively short and broken this into 10 segments (instead of asking you to write a large paper or something like that).  I've numbered each of the resources so please number your responses correspondingly in a GoogleDoc or MSWord file and submit to our Google Classroom.  
  • For those of you not trying to influence your grade, just a simple quick-write paragraph reaction to each would be great - you can summarize, critique, ponder, or whatever you feel like writing in response.  I do not think this will take very long and will hopefully help you think about the content a bit deeper.  For those of you working to improve your grade, begin the same way but after you've read/viewed each of the resources consider your quick-write a rough draft and edit/revise each response to a more polished level (please also let me know at the top of your paper that you are working to improve your grade).
  • Let me know if you have any questions or need any help.  I hope to introduce you to some of the ideas of Chaos Theory, but I don't intend for this to take too much time or be a large burden. 
  1. Introduction to Chaos Theory by James Gleick: Chaos: Making a New Science (Prologue). This gives a setting to the beginnings of Chaos Theory.  This is the work that I see most quoted on the subject and a good place to start if you want to learn more about Chaos Theory.
  2. Blog/journal style Introduction to Chaos Theory.  Has some errors, but interesting ideas to think about.
  3. Easy to watch Video Introduction to Chaos Theory that is especially helpful with Sensitivity to Initial Conditions.
  4. More academic article (but with minimal mathematics) about  Chaos Theory and Connected Topics with Applications.
  5. More introduction to Chaos Theory with Better Story about Edward Lorenz.
  6. Conversational overview of Chaos and Fractals with interesting Parable/Fable Conclusion.
  7. Good Introduction to the Logistic Map (Feigenbaum Graph).  We would have spent a lot of time in class deriving and investigating this fascinating picture.
  8. General Wikipedia article on Chaos Theory that should be easier to read now (after the section on "Sensitivity to Initial Conditions" skip to the section titled"History" and finish).
  9. Excerpt from the classic text "The Fractal Geometry of Nature" by Benoit B. Mandelbrot: Measuring the Coast of Britain.  Read as far as you comfortably can into the article, the notation and mathematics on fractal dimensions gets challenging... 
  10. The classic short story A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury.  There are cleaner copies, but I like this older one better.