Natalie Stapley and two other U math students got onstage Tuesday night and sang about how to solve for x to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”
Although many students prepare for finals by coming up with quirky sayings to memorize information, reading through chapters and frantically taking notes, Stapley, an undecided freshman, and her fellow students in Math 1010 studied for their upcoming exam by singing.
Math professor Kelly MacArthur’s class met in the Tanner Humanities Building to sing about quadratic equations and other algebra formulas to prepare for its final test.
MacArthur planned the karaoke night for her students to study in a fun way and earn some extra credit.
“The students performed karaoke songs with certain mathematical themes,” MacArthur said. She started out the show with her own karaoke song, which she dubbed “Math Can Be Fun” and sang to the Beatles tune, “Here Comes the Sun.”
About 18 groups of students performed. Students accompanied themselves on guitar, sang along to iPods and CDs or sang a cappella.
The songs contained information about different algebraic formulas. A group calling itself the Radicals sang about quadratic equations, while another group, Sweet and Sour to the Negative Power, rapped about mathematical relations and functions. When MacArthur informed her students they would be videotaped and the video would show up on YouTube, some groaned and some laughed.
Kristen Hickenlooper, a sophomore in nursing, laughed about the situation but said she was glad for the extra credit assignment.
“(It was) a good review,” she said. “It helps to put (math) into songs so on the test you can remember dorky (sayings).”
She said it didn’t take very long for her and her group to put the project together, but she said performing it definitely drew her out of her comfort zone.
Shane Givvs, an undecided freshman taking MacArthur’s class, feels the same way. He said the karaoke was a good review for things they learned at the beginning of the semester. Stapley said coming up with math-themed lyrics to songs was not difficult.
This is the second karaoke night MacArthur has planned for her students. The first was held in the spring.
She said that out of her 170 students, she expected about 80 to show up. Her students are not math majors, and a few pointed out in their songs that they do not need math for their chosen major.
MacArthur’s students vary in age, from 18-year-old freshmen to older, middle-aged students. All who were present participated in the karaoke and supported each other, clapping and whistling as each group finished.
Referring to the videos that will be posted online, Givvs said, “Go check it out on YouTube!”
Lucas IsleyMath 1010 students, Zak Cedarholm, Jordon Emerson, and Penn Eastbur, sing “Radical Equations” during a math themed karaoke night on Tuesday. Students received extra credit for singing their songs.