Balanced Assessment
Books from Andonov
To examine mathematical functions in a modeling situation pupils combine quadratic and step functions to represent a presented scenario. They both graph and write a function to represent data shown in a table.
Balanced Assessment
Bathtub Graph
Represent the relationship between independent and dependent variables through a modeling situation. The activity expects learners to graph the volume of water in a bathtub during a given scenario. The graph should result in two areas of...
Balanced Assessment
Transformation I
Rewriting expressions in different forms is an essential algebra skill. Support the development of this skill by using a task that asks scholars to begin with a linear, quadratic, and rational expression and then manipulate them into a...
Balanced Assessment
Egyptian Statue
Investigate the proportional relationships of length, area, and volume. Learners use the dimensions of rectangular prisms to create ratios and proportions. They compare the different ratios to solve more advanced problems.
Balanced Assessment
Ostrich and Seahorse
Examine the relationship between ratios and scale. Young math scholars compare ratios of two models. They use the ratios to make a comparison between the two models. Each image uses a different scale, which requires learners to think...
Balanced Assessment
School Zone
Find the right house within walking distance from school. The short assessment has pupils determine the houses that are a given maximum distance from a school. Individuals then determine the shortest and longest walks from the homes that...
Balanced Assessment
Local and Global Behavior
Create rules for numerical sequences. Pupils develop local rules and recursive rules for number sequences. The sequences are linear, quadratic, and cubic in nature. Scholars find that some local rules do not work, no matter where in the...
Balanced Assessment
Chameleon Color
Don't let the resource hide from you. In the assessment task, young mathematicians solve problems involving chameleons that change color. Three different problems require individuals to apply parity in various situations.
Balanced Assessment
Boring a Bead
How much material is in a bead? Class members utilize volume formulas to determine the amount of material in a bead. The goal of the assessment is to show that the amount of material left in a bead is the same for all beads with a given...
Balanced Assessment
Fit-Ness
Serve four towns with one bus route. Pupils develop a bus route that meets certain criteria to serve four towns. They determine which of the routes would best serve all of them. Individuals then hypothesize where a fifth town should be...
Balanced Assessment
Getting Closer
Flip the script! Reverse the situation and ask the class to find the function given asymptotes. The task requires class members to use their knowledge of functions and asymptotes to create functions that have a given asymptote or...
Balanced Assessment
Dart Boards
Bulls eye! Design dart boards with specific chances of winning. Individuals determine the probability of hitting a circular and a triangular dart board inscribed in squares. They create dart boards that have a 50 percent chance of...
Balanced Assessment
Tie Breaker
Develop a tie-breaking policy to determine a league champion. The assessment presents a scenario of finding a champion of a league with three teams tied. Pupils devise and defend a system that allows for only one team to be determined...
Balanced Assessment
Genetic Codes
Determine the number of possible genetic codes. Class members are challenged to determine the number of possibilities of a genetic code that is 20 bases long. They continue to explore the average lengths of broken RNA molecules.
Balanced Assessment
Red Dots, Blue Dots
Count the connections between dots. Young mathematicians come up with a method to determine the number of connections between pairs of dots. The assessment leads the class to determine the connections they can make when groups are...
Balanced Assessment
Catenary
Develop a model for a hanging chain. Pupils find a mathematical model for a hanging chain and then they compare their models to the precise function that models the curve. Scholars come up with a strategy to determine how close their...
Balanced Assessment
On Averages and Curves
Determine the average on a curve. The class finds graphical representations of averages and expresses them both symbolically and on the graph. The assessment requires class members to justify using average to describe graphs.
Balanced Assessment
A Run for Two
Develop a graph to represent the distance between two cars. The assessment task presents a scenario in which two cars are traveling at constant speeds with one faster than the other. Pupils develop graphical representations to show the...
Balanced Assessment
Para-Ball-A
Analyze the flight of a thrown ball. Learners determine the maximum height of a thrown ball and the time it takes to hit the ground given its initial speed. They continue to review different scenarios with different maximums or different...
Balanced Assessment
Curvy-Ness
Curves ahead! Develop a numerical measurement of curvy-ness. The class is challenged to come up with a definition of curvy that can be applied to curves. The class members use their defined measurement to describe a curve.
Balanced Assessment
Square in Square
Challenge the class to devise a method to determine the dimensions of a rectangle inscribed in another rectangle. Pupils make connections between functions and geometry as they examine the area and perimeter of a square or rectangle...
Balanced Assessment
A Loud Noise
In a scale measuring noise, an increase in 10 dB is a 10 time increase in power. Mathematicians examine the data graph of a real world exponential growth, with no logarithmic scale, and then create two equations relating the decibels and...
Balanced Assessment
Rolling Coins
What caused the extra rotation? Class members visualize a coin rolling around the circumference of another coin. They determine the reason the rolling coin rotates twice. Further questions require them to determine a generalized formula...
Balanced Assessment
A Sharper Image
Not all continuous functions are differentiable. Pupils find three types of functions that are defined everywhere but not differentiable for all values of x. Along with providing examples of each type of function, students explain the...