Balanced Assessment
Blirts and Gorks
Start a trend by using blirts and gorks as your standard unit of measures. The activity asks learners to take a known measures of blirts and gorks and develop a conversion ratio. Individuals use both perimeter and area measures of...
Balanced Assessment
MasterMind
Knowledge of statistics and probability can increase your advantage when playing games. The activity asks learners to analyze the game of MasterMind to determine the number of possible codes. They also examine different variations of the...
Balanced Assessment
Bagels or Donuts
Explore business problems through mathematical analysis. The task has individuals write and graph a linear system to determine the best business model. They use their models to answer a series of questions that help to make a conclusion.
Balanced Assessment
The Triskaidecaphobia Conference
Triskaidecaphobia is an extreme superstition to the number 13—and ironically the answer to the word problem is 13! Presented with a series of descriptive data, individuals analyze the data to determine the population size. They must...
Balanced Assessment
Fermi Estimates II
How many hot dogs does Fenway Park go through in a year? Learners estimate answers to this question and more as they work through the task. Problems require participants to make assumptions and use those assumptions to make estimations.
Balanced Assessment
Garages and Phones
Examine and compare a linear and step function. The task provides two scenarios, one modeled by a linear function and the other a step function. Pupils create a graph for each and explain how each compares to the other.
Balanced Assessment
Mirror, Mirror II
Apply the concept of similar triangles to design a space in a room. Scholars use similar triangles to determine how a spotlight reflects from a mirror. After drawing the path of the spotlight, individuals find the smallest possible width...
Balanced Assessment
Bumpy-Ness
Develop a new measure of the properties of an object. Scholars develop a definition and formula to measure the bumpy-ness of an object. They utilize their formulas to find the property for several spherical objects.
Balanced Assessment
Cost of Living
Math scholars investigate the cost of living in Hong Kong compared to Chicago but must first convert the different types of currency. They then choose a type of graph to compare different spending categories and finish the activity by...
Balanced Assessment
Presidential Popularity
Media often misrepresent data and statistics to their advantage. This lesson asks scholars to analyze an article with misleading statistics. They use margin of error and mean data in their studies. Once they complete their analysis,...
Balanced Assessment
Vacation in Bramilia
This performance task gives the population model of different types of flies and asks scholars to analyze the two populations. After interpreting the functions individually, participants compare the two populations and find the time when...
Balanced Assessment
Smaller, Larger, In-Between
Build a solid understanding of rational number relationships by asking class members to use various skills to order decimals, fractions, and numeric power expressions. Using the resource, they find that the fractions do not have an...
Balanced Assessment
Number Game
It's all in the numbers! Create a mathematical model to analyze a number game and develop a winning strategy. Using a given numerical pattern, scholars write an expression to model the scenario. They then interpret the pattern of the...
Balanced Assessment
Toilet Graph
Mathematics can model just about anything—so why not simulate the height of water in a toilet bowl? The lesson asks pupils to create a graphical model to describe the relationship of the height of the water as it empties and fills again....
Balanced Assessment
Scaling the Stars
Examine ratio and scale through coordinate geometry. Scholars use two diagrams of different scale to calculate perimeter and area. Then, individuals use the perimeters and areas to find ratios.
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Waves, Sinusoids, and Identities
What is the net effect when two waves interfere with each other? The lesson plan answers this question by helping the class visualize waves through graphing. Pupils graph individual waves and determine the effect of the interference...
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End-of-Module Assessment Task: Grade 8 Module 4
Connect proportional linear equations and systems. The seven-question assessment is the last installment in a 33-part series. The items cover comparing proportional relationships, slope concepts, and simultaneous linear equations. To...
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Systems of Equations Leading to Pythagorean Triples
Find Pythagorean Triples like the ancient Babylonians. The resource presents the concept of Pythagorean Triples. It provides the system of equations the Babylonians used to calculate Pythagorean Triples more than 4,000 years ago. Pupils...
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Conversion Between Celsius and Fahrenheit
Develop a formula based upon numerical computations. The 31st part of a 33-part unit has the class determine the formula to convert a temperature in Celsius to a temperature in Fahrenheit. They do this by making comparisons between the...
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Word Problems
Use several skills to solve word problems leading to systems of equations. Scholars define variables and write equations to model situations described within word problems. Pupils solve the resulting system of linear equations using...
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Another Computational Model of Solving a Linear System
The process of elimination really works! Use elimination when substitution isn't doing the job. The 29th segment in a series of 33 introduces the elimination method to solving linear systems. Pupils work several exercises to grasp the...
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Nature of Solutions of a System of Linear Equations
If at first you cannot graph, substitute. The lesson introduces the substitution method as a way to solve linear systems if the point of intersection is hard to determine from a graph. The 28th installment of a 33-part series finishes...
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Characteristics of Parallel Lines
Systems of parallel lines have no solution. Pupils work examples to discover that lines with the same slope and different y-intercepts are parallel. The 27th segment of 33 uses this discovery to develop a proof, and the class determines...
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Geometric Interpretations of the Solutions of a Linear System
An intersection is more than just the point where lines intersect; explain this and the meaning of the intersection to your class. The 26th segment in a 33-part series uses graphing to solve systems of equations. Pupils graph linear...