a
MParabolas and
Vector properties and the birds frictionless
environment help students understand the
mathematics behind the game.
John h. Lamb
S
ometimes the simplest concept can fascinate completely. Who
could have guessed that launching a red bird toward a tower
of blocks inhabited by egg-stealing green pigs would become as
popular a video game as it has? Toddlers to 90-year-olds have
become enamored of this simple game rooted in the mathemati-
cal concepts of projectile motion. From the moment I first launched a
tiny, angry red bird toward those thieving pigs, I became intrigued by the
thought of using this game to motivate mathematics students, their teach-
ers, and their future teachers. As a professor of mathematics education
and a teacher of high school precalculus, I have developed a way to use
the elements of the game Angry Birds as a platform to engage my stu-
dents with the concepts of parabolas and vectors.
x = x0 + V0 t 1
y = xy0 + V0 t gt 2
1 y 2
y = y0 + V0 t gt 2
y 2
Fig. 5 Angry V ,
Vectors
0
are defined by the initial velocity and
x
angle of elevation of the launched Angry Bird.
V0 ,
x
VVa, Va
0x
V0
x
V ,
The 0class
x can then use the standard quadratic
Fig. 4 Students find polar and rectangular coordinates of equation formV0 of, y = ax2 + bx + c to solve for Va and
y
the Angry Bird prelaunch positions. q. TheVfollowing
, verifies what a, b, and c equal in
0
terms ofy V0x, V0y, and g:
of polar equations to complete the table. Once the x x0
x = x0 + V0 t t =
class has completed the table, discussion related to x
x x0 V0x
x = x0 + V0 t t =
the magnitude and direction of the Angry Vectors is x V0
used to urge students toward the final element of the We use this value for t and substitute as follows:
x
( )
2 Kebritchi, Mansureh, Atsusi Hirumi, and Haiyan Bai.
2 V0 9.81 2010. The Effects of Modern Mathematics Com-
V0 = x 20.3882
x 2(0.0118) puter Games on Mathematics Achievement and Class
9.81
V0 = 20.3882 Motivation. Computers & Education 55 (2): 42743.
x 2(0.0118)
We then do the sameV0 for our representations of b: doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2010.02.007
0.47672 = y Kim, Sunha, and Mido Chang. 2010. Computer
V0V0x Games for the Math Achievement of Diverse Stu-
0.47672 = y dents. Educational Technology and Society 13 (3):
V0 V= 00.47672 20.3882 9.7195
y x
22432.
V0 = 0.47672 20.3882 9.7195 Papert, Seymour. 1980. Mindstorms: Children, Comput
y
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Egenfeldt-Nielsen, Simon. 2006. Overview of
Research on the Educational Use of Video Games.
Digital Kompentanse 1 (3): 184213.
. 2007. Third-Generation Educational Use of
Computer Games. Journal of Educational Multi
media and Hypermedia 16 (3): 26381.
Feurzeig, Wallace, and Seymour A. Papert. 1968,
2011. Programming-Languages as a Conceptual
Framework for Teaching Mathematics. Preface
by Bob Lawler. Interactive Learning Environments