Who knew that the Egyptian, Julian, and Gregorian year were different lengths? Your mathematicians will! They will have to calculate the difference between the years in seconds and find the percent change. Using dimensional analysis,...

Analyze data on a graph to answer three questions after a robot race. Learners practice comparing ratios and reading points on a graph. Answers may vary on the last question based on accuracy of graphing. Use the lesson along with...

A basic set-up leads to a surprisingly complex analysis in this variation on the question of surrounding a central circle with a ring of touching circles. Useful for putting trigonometric functions in a physical context, as well as...

A graph not only tells us who won the bike race, but also what happened during the race. Use this resource to help learners understand graphs. The commentary suggests waiting until the end of the year to introduce this topic, but why...

Is the price of chocolate a good indicator of taste? Your learners will approach this question through experimentation and analysis, and will then delve into the rich history and complexity of cacao and chocolate.

Farming is full of mathematics, and it provides numerous real-world examples for young mathematicians to study. Here, we look at a cylinder-shaped storage silo that has one flat side. Given certain dimensions, students need to determine...

How do greenhouse gases affect the climate on Earth?  Pupils explore the concept by first building their own apparatuses to model the greenhouse effect. Then, they record data to measure temperature change and determine...

Here is an activity that presents a good example of a function modeling a relationship between two quantities. John is making DVDs of his friend's favorite shows and needs to know how much to charge his friend to cover the cost of making...

Learners investigate the relationship between the Fahrenheit and Celsius temperature scales. Given two data points, they construct a linear function to describe the relationship, find the inverse of the function, and make observations...

Learners apply critical thinking skills as they analyze data about the temperature inside a gymnasium during a school assembly. The focus is on representing temperature as a function of time and interpreting input and output values...

In this real-world example, algebra learners start to get a sense of how to represent the relationship between two variables in different ways. They start by looking at a partial table of values that define a linear relationship. They...

This activity asks learners to interpret data displayed on a graph within the context of the problem. Students are given three graphs that show solar radiation, or intensity of the sun, as a function of time. They are also given three...

Make the most of your prom—with math! Pupils write and use a quadratic model to determine the optimal price of prom tickets. After determining the costs associated with the event, learners use a graph to analyze the break even point(s).

Just about every public building that your students are familiar with has an access ramp which complies with ADA requirements. As it turns out, designing such a ramp is an excellent activity to incorporate slope, the Pythagorean Theorem,...

The United States is the world's largest producer of biofuel. During an in-class investigation, young scientists produce their own biodiesel. They burn a sample of it to determine the heat of combustion. Then they discuss the...

Class members create their own social networks by collecting signatures before graphing the interactions with their fellow classmates. The degree distribution of the simulated social network is determined by calculating the degree of...

Turn your algebra learners into meteorologists. Learners are given three graphs that contain information about the weather in Santa Rosa, California during the month of February, 2012. Graph one shows temperatures, graph two displays the...

Your young geologists generate a graph given a table of values from the context of latitude and percent of the earth's surface north of that latitude. The questions in the activity then focus the learners to a deeper understanding of the...

Witness the power of exponential growth with an activity that investigates two different savings plans. Class members create tables of values to see how and when a savings plan increasing exponentially exceeds one increasing linearly.

Adjust the melting time of ice without varying the temperature! Learners experiment with different materials to decide how the materials affect the rate an ice cube melts. They then connect their findings to the conductivity of each...

This activity presents a real-world problem about an epidemic of influenza spreading through a city. Learners refer to a graph that shows the number of individuals infected in relation to the number of weeks that have elapsed since...

Learning how a bank account works is a useful tool. The exercise in the resource is to deduct rent from a checking account and create an equation from a description. Participants then graph the balance of the bank account versus months...

Here is an activity that merges technology with life skills as individuals use Google Earth to explore the differences between coordinate systems and map projections. The self-guided worksheet is the fourth segment in a nine-part unit....

How long would it take to break into a safe by testing every possible combination of codes? Pupils view a video clip of this happening and must determine the total amount of time before success. They measure how long each step takes, add...