Production of parabolic mirrors and construction of the concept of 2nd degree polynomial function

One of the biggest obstacles to learn physics in High School is, according teachers’ account, their mathematical approach. In this paper we propose an activity that integrates Physics and Math contents, in order to make quadratic function significant for the students. We report the activities planned and implemented in the classroom, with High School 1st year students in a public school located within the RS. The activities referred to the production of parabolic mirrors in two different models, followed by the construction of the concept of 2nd degree polynomial (the so called quadratic function). Therefore, we used both the classroom space and students’ home space, allowing experience learning during the period that lasted the activity. We work under a constructivist methodology. We conclude that such activities class, called hands-on, can really bring significance to the concepts usually covered abstractly in textbooks.

Keywords:
Geometric Optics; mathematical functions; contextualization