National Research Center for Career and Technical Education
Finance: Depreciation (Double Declining)
Of particular interest to a group of business and finance pupils, this lesson explores depreciation of automobile values by comparing the double declining balance to the straight line method. Mostly this is done through a slide...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson # 12 - Calibration Curve for a Radiation Meter
Scientists need to have mastered algebraic slope-intercept concepts in order for this lesson to be effective. They will measure and graph solar panel output as a function of the amount of radiation striking it, discovering that there is...
Illustrative Mathematics
Introduction to Linear Functions
Introduce your algebra learners to linear and quadratic functions. Learners compare the differences and relate them back to the equations and graphs. Lead your class to discussions on the properties of a function or a constant slope...
Illustrative Mathematics
Modeling with a Linear Function
Here is a well-designed resource that provides five yes-or-no questions which model different situations with linear functions. It makes a good pre-test for the beginning of the unit. The purpose is to elicit common misconceptions of...
Curated OER
Heart Rate Monitoring
Algebra learners like this resource because it is easy to understand and it relates to their lives. Whether you are starting a new workout routine, or just climbing the stairs, your heart rate increases and decreases throughout the day....
Illustrative Mathematics
Distance across the channel
Here you will find a model of a linear relationship between two quantities, the water depth of a channel and the distance across the channel at water level. The cross section of the channel is the shape of an isosceles trapezoid. The...
Illustrative Mathematics
Chicken and Steak, Variation 2
Many organizations put on barbecues in order to make money. In a real-world math problem, the money allotted to purchase steak and chicken at this barbecue is only one hundred dollars. It is up to your potential chefs to figure out how...
Curated OER
When Will We Ever Use This? Predicting Using Graphs
Here are a set of graphing lessons that have a real-world business focus. Math skills include creating a scatter plot or line graph, fitting a line to a scatter plot, and making predictions. These lessons are aimed at an algebra 1 level...
Illustrative Mathematics
Video Streaming
Your movie fans will be interested in this resource. They will compare video streaming plans. One plan charges a set rate per month and a reduced viewing fee, and the other has a flat rate per each video viewed. Unfortunately, students...
Illustrative Mathematics
Downhill
A car traveling down a steep hill is the model for this resource. The confusion comes when the elevation, E, is given in terms of distance, d. The distance, d, is the horizontal distance from E. Therefore, the equation, E = 7500 – 250d,...
Illustrative Mathematics
Tides
A very simple example of a functional relationship between depth of water and time is shown here. In fact, it might be more useful to use a coastal tide book to better illustrate this real-world experience. Pupils are to count the number...
Illustrative Mathematics
Riding by the Library
Draw a graph that shows the qualitative features of a function that has been described verbally. Make sure learners understand where time is zero and the distance is zero. It may take them some time to understand this concept, so working...
Illustrative Mathematics
Delivering the Mail
A mail truck travels the same amount of miles per day. It will be up to your algebra learners to find an equation for this mailman’s truck. One needs a good understanding of rate of change and the initial value for this model. The...
Illustrative Mathematics
Baseball Cards
Here is a resource that demonstrates growth and the initial state of an equation. In this case, your class will be looking at baseball collections. How many baseball cards did the collector start out with, and how many were added or...
Illinois State Board of Education
Is It Linear?
Math apprentices are introduced to the components of a linear relationship. In groups, they write story problems that incorporate this relationship and relates to the real world. They give their problem to the class for them to solve.
Illustrative Mathematics
High School Graduation
An exercise in finding the approximate time that a name would be called at a graduation. Estimating time may be difficult for some of the class, so this resource would not be a good choice for learning this standard. It does end with a...