Mathematics students explored the same question as in ELA, "What is Love?" as a part of our Associations in Data (8th Grade Math) and Modeling Data (NC Math 1) units. We explored the idea of a relationship by visualizing bivariate data in a scatterplot. We learned what it means for data to display a weak or strong and positive or negative association. We learned about the correlation coefficient and what it tells us about the relationship between two variables. Then, we took this knowledge and skills and applied them to the characters in A Midsummer Night's Dream to see what we could determine about the mathematical relationship between each pair of romantically-involved characters. We also analyzed real U.S. Census data about marriage age and educational attainment for women in the United States. Finally, we learned about how dating apps use mathematics, including the mathematics covered in our math curriculum, to make matches and predict the strength of potential relationships.

NC Math 1