Mathematics & Culinary Arts
Summary of article: “Exploring Ratios and Sequences with Mathematically Layered Beverages”
Exploring Ratios and Sequences with Mathematically Layered Beverages outlines a workshop that was conducted to teach ratios and integer sequences through the creation of layered beverages. This workshop also incorporates opportunities for students to make connections to density. Participants taste the difference between various proportions of lemon juice and simple syrup to make lemonade utilizing their sense of taste in the mathematics classroom.
Stop 1
“Unlike most examples of food-based mathematical art, where the math is purely visual with no effect on the actual flavor and experience consuming the food, the math in our beverages is conveyed entirely by the ingredients and flavor” (Hawksley, 2015). Throughout this course we have been exploring many examples of multi-sensory applications of mathematics. Many of the examples provided through research have focused on movement and sound. This idea of taste as a way to think about fractions is genius. When introducing fractions to my grade 1/2 class, I would love to have them think about fractions as a drink and have them use their sense of taste. Having them mix drinks with different proportions to start thinking about what this means and how different amounts create different tastes. If we mix a drink that is 1/10 juice and 9/10 pop, does it taste more like pop or juice?
Stop 2
“Drinks with many layers may be used to explore integer sequences. However, due to the requirement that each layer be less dense than the previous layer, one sequence that is monotonic can be explored” (Haskley, 2015). This made me stop and think about how this could be an exploration task for older students. Have students try to create layered drinks with liquids that are the same density, then have them create drinks with different densities. What happens? What conclusions can be made?
Exploration of Mathematical Task
This week I embarked on the Miura-Ori Origami task. This task stuck out to me because I Ioved the new perspective on students understanding of tessellations in a 3D format. When I was a middle school teacher, I often found myself having students create tessellations as an art activity. I love that this origami task helps students to see how tesselations can be found and created using more than just drawings. I found this activity difficult at first, however after spending some time rewatching the video, I started to see the pattern and how the paper folds fit together. After creating a peak you need to create a valley that fits within the peak. I am left thinking about how this activity really could help students understand what tessellations are and the connections made between this type of folding and how solar panels are made and brought to space.
After immersing myself in this week’s course content, I am left wondering:
How else can we embed the sense of taste into our mathematics classes?
References
Hawksley, A. (2015). Exploring ratios and sequences with mathematically layered beverages.
Proceedings of Bridges 2015: Mathematics, Music, Art, Architecture, Culture.
I thought for a long time about your final question! Taste is arguably the hardest sense to incorporate into a math classroom. There are all sorts of issues to overcome. Things like cost of purchasing the materials/ingredients, food allergies, dietary restrictions, time, and access to equipment such as ovens or sinks can all be barriers to success. I tried brainstorming some ideas and came up with making jello, pudding, cupcakes, and rock candy. However, I realized that changing the proportions of different ingredients would most likely result in a change of texture as opposed to a change in taste. I'm going to keep thinking about it, but I do truly believe that this is the hardest sense to incorporate in an authentic way.
ReplyDeleteI love your origami photos. Great colour choice!
ReplyDeleteI'm also fascinated by this idea of exploring fractions through taste. What a fun way to do it. I imagine that recipes that comprise many parts - like a salad - might be ideal for exploring ratio. You could do it with baked goods but that would affect the texture and consistency and you may well have to throw some of the ingredients out.
I've just finished writing ten plus report cards and it's late so I'm struggling to think beyond fractions as a concept that can be explored through taste. I suppose ifyou were studying financial literacy you could use taste to see how substituting cheaper ingredients affected the final recipe.