Page 23 - THE MATHMATE November 2024

State Turtles Lizards Snakes Frogs/ Salamanders example of the intersection of math and
Toads science.
FL 23 36 44 29 25
GA 22 13 39 28 29
SC 14 12 37 29 32
NC 15 11 36 28 40
VA 18 9 30 24 46
MD 11 6 23 16 19
PA 11 4 20 12 17
NY 12 3 17 13 16

Table 1. A survey of Reptile and amphibian species from FL
to NY.

Once students visualize a pattern, they can
start to hypothesize why the patterns occur –
this makes this lesson interdisciplinary. The
previous example shows just that, as does a
study on the rocky jetty at Huntington Beach
State Park, Murrell’s Inlet, South Carolina,
where we see zonation on the rocks. Algae are
only found in the lower zones which stay wet
for much longer, and mussels, oysters,
barnacles are attached to the rocks in bands,
or zones, and there are many mobile
organisms, like isopods and snails, crawling
within particular zones as well (Figure 3). Why Figure 3. The jetty at Murrell’s Inlet, SC,
do we see these zones? If mussels and showing algae in the lower zone and
oysters are too low down, bottom dwelling mussels, oysters, and barnacles at the top.
predators can get to them easily, eating them.
If they are too high up, though, they are To do this lesson in mathematics class, I find it
exposed at low tide for too long a time (and helpful to go over kite diagrams first, with the
when not underwater they dry out, can’t feed, examples provided, and then go outside to
can’t reproduce). This too can lead to death. collect data and make kite diagrams from
There is a zone, a region where the mussels species we have on our own campus. On your
and oysters can survive and thrive. They schoolgrounds, find an outside forested area.
probably out-compete the barnacles, who also It is best if you can find one that has a change
thrive in that same zone when mussels are in some feature over distance, perhaps a
absent, but are forced to take the more change in elevation (height above sea level),
inhospitable, drier, upper zone. A kite diagram or in soil types, or watering regime. This is
helps you to clearly visualize and compare the often found along the school’s borders; for
zones. It is the first step for scientists when example, do you have an area that is watered
delineating zones and figuring out why and by irrigation next to an area that is not, or a
where the zones exist. And it is a great shaded area and a sunny area? An area that

Scctm The MathMate 23 Volume 44/Number 1 October 2024