Welcome to AlgebraLAB, an online learning environment that focuses on topics
and skills from high school mathematics that students must be able to draw upon in their introductory
science courses. Since math is the language of science, science courses are often
where students first realize “Oh, so this is why we learned that in algebra …”
In many cases students often discover that it is one or more math skills that initially
block their ability to understand and internalize new science concepts. In science
classes students must learn how to recognize when particular mathematics procedures
are applicable so that they can select from their "mathematics toolboxes" the correct
methods needed to solve new problems. And to make matters worse, these new problems
are often "word problems" that require not only an ultimate solution but an understanding
of how to interpret givens, relate cause-and-effect, and set up any initial conditional
equations.
After 17 years of being online, AlgebraLAB has become an integral component in the curriculum of innumerable instructors at the elementary, secondary, and collegiate levels as well as parents, and students. In the state of Florida, AlgebraLAB's curriculum has been been reviewed and approved with links to specific pages (see example) meeting required mathematics standards and benchmarks. Moreover, AlgebraLAB has received recommendations from Educational Freeware, Drexel University's Math Forum, and The Physics Front.
Research-based design models have driven the project’s design and
implementation. AlgebraLAB focuses on building the connections between science and
the basic mathematics required for its understanding by means of:
- Lessons on each topic/skill combination
- Practice pages on your choice of of topic/skill combination
- Lessons on solving classic word problem situations
- StudyAids or “Recipes for Success”
- Practice on interpreting science and economics graphs which integrate reasoning as well as reading and
math skills
- Practice on reading technical scientific passages
- Hands-on science activities to support the use of mathematics in science
- Interactive glossary of math and science terms with pronunciation guides, definitions, and examples
- Career profiles, resourced in 2003, illustrating the connections between math and science in a myriad
of occupations.
During the summer of 2019 the document types called "Passages" and "Word Problems" were reformated to show answers with audio files. The links to reach the new presentations of these pages are provided on the sidebar. If you had previously linked to the older formats, please update your sites.
The following page provides more information about the project's history.
Our copyright information and usage agreement are available as well as recommendations on how to use this website.
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