The Hill

Highlights of the activity

1. This small group activity is designed to reinforce the geometric definition of the gradient.
2. Students work in small groups to construct the gradient vector at different points on a hill.
3. The whole class wrap-up discussion emphasizes that the gradient lives in the domain, not on the graph.

Reasons to spend class time on the activity

• Compare-and-contrast activity emphasizing geometric nature of gradient.
• Reinforces the idea that the gradient is local.
• Useful visualization of the gradient as a vector field.

Reflections

• Reflections from the original implementation.

• Reflections from "official" adapters/adopters.

• Reflections from the general public.

Instructor's Guide

• Wiki version

vchillguide.pdf

Student Handouts

vchillhand.pdf