Conexão entre a Matemática e a Física: a interdisciplinaridade explicando o funcionamento de um arrefecedor caseiro, o Eco Cooler

Abstract

Mathematics, with its own refined language, has always played a central role in man's understanding of the world around him. Therefore, Science, in particular Physics, uses it to express its thinking, in a rational and logical way. Thus, the proposition of the present work is to contextualize the study of graphs of zero-degree polynomial functions and one from the physical analysis of the operation of a homemade cooler, the Eco Cooler (EC), in order to awaken the interest in scientific research and thus enable a more attractive and productive teaching in the formation of critical and creative citizens. The methodology was carried out in the bibliographic survey for the development of an explanatory research, taking advantage of the experimental method to identify, through the graphic language, the cause of the cooling effect provoked by the EC. Language is related to the capacity of data organization in a systematic, synthetic and efficient way to understand and interpret a phenomenon. The course was developed in four consecutive stages: knowledge of the existing academic production, preparation of the EC, collection of data in the laboratory with its graphic transcription and data analysis as proposition of mathematical models. From the data collection and construction of these models, it was possible to evaluate and predict the behavior of the physical quantities involved in the process. Therefore, through the exploration of the concept of zero-degree and one-degree polynomial functions, and using its graphical representation, it was concluded that the cooling effect was not produced by a decrease in the internal temperature of the environment. Therefore, presenting a mathematical content through contextualization is a methodological proposal for teaching in a more meaningful way, always in search of ways to reveal the role played by mathematics in science.