Tiny prisms in reflective road signs and safety vests have interesting geometrical properties that can be discussed at any level of high school mathematics. At the beginning of the school year, the author teaches a unit on these reflective materials in her precalculus class so that students can review and strengthen their geometry and trigonometry…

Experimenting with weights in a two-pan balance can be used in a series of activities on application of trigonometry. (SD)

Presents activities that combine astronomy problems with algebra, geometry, trigonometry, data analysis, and physics. Provides experiences for students in making distance measurements themselves by using the method of parallax. (ASK)

This article presents some of the optics and mathematics related to what causes a rainbow, why it is brighter inside than out, and why more than one rainbow may appear. (PK)

Methods use to reconstruct traffic accidents provide settings for real life applications for students in precalculus, mathematical analysis, or trigonometry. Described is the investigation of an accident in conjunction with the local Highway Patrol Academy integrating physics, vector, and trigonometry. Class findings were compared with those of…