Physics Assignment | Online Assignment

Watch one of the movies listed below. Then answer the following questions in a 1 – 2 page essay. Submit the essay as a pdf on Canvas.

Movies: Proof (2005), Moneyball (2011), The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015), The Imitation Game (2014), Hidden Figures (2016), A Brilliant Young Mind (2014), The Martian (2015), Apollo 13 (1995), Gravity (2013), The Dish (2000).

1) Before watching the film, how do you think science/math might be portrayed in the film (hard, easy, esoteric, ordinary). How do you think the people doing math or science will be portrayed?

2) Having watched the film, revisit question 1. How is science/math and the people who use it in the film portrayed?

3) Describe the types of math, science, logical thinking, or problem solving that are used in the film.

4) For the films Moneyball, The Martian, Hidden Figures, Apollo 13, Gravity, The Dish: to what extent would you have recognized the math/science of the story if you hadn’t been watching this for a science class? Give some examples of where science/math/problem solving was used and how it was integral to the telling of the story.

For the films Proof, The Man Who Knew Infinity, The Imitation Game, A Brilliant Young Mind: In these films mathematical research is at the heart of the story. Did you notice any ways in which the story, dialogue, or filming reflected this fact? Did you notice anything about how the film conveyed mathematics or mathematical reasoning to a non-mathematical audience? Particular images, scenes?

5) From a math/science perspective, what most surprised or disappointed you about the movie?