EngageNY
Ferris Wheels—Tracking the Height of a Passenger Car
Watch your pupils go round and round as they explore periodic behavior. Learners graph the height of a Ferris wheel over time. They repeat the process with Ferris wheels of different diameters.
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Introduction to Solving Linear Systems
Word problems offer class members an opportunity to learn the concept of solving linear systems using graphs. Individuals choose a problem based upon preferences, break into groups to discuss solution methods and whether there...
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Are All Parabolas Congruent?
Augment a unit on parabolas with an instructive math activity. Pupils graph parabolas by examining the relationship between the focus and directrix.
EngageNY
Why Call It Tangent?
Discover the relationship between tangent lines and the tangent function. Class members develop the idea of the tangent function using the unit circle. They create tables of values and explore the domain, range, and end behavior of...
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Properties of Exponents and Radicals
(vegetable)^(1/2) = root vegetable? The fourth installment of a 35-part module has scholars extend properties of exponents to rational exponents to solve problems. Individuals use these properties to rewrite radical expressions in...
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Changing the Base
I can't calculate a base-2 logarithm since my calculator doesn't have a base-2 log key. Young mathematicians use the change of base formula to extend the properties of logarithms to all bases. Among these bases is the natural log base,...
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Rational and Irrational Numbers
Back to the basics: learning how to add numbers. The 17th installment of a 35-part module first reviews addition techniques for rational numbers, such as graphical methods (number line) and numerical methods (standard algorithm). It goes...
EngageNY
Transformations of the Graphs of Logarithmic and Exponential Functions
Transform your lesson on transformations. Scholars investigate transformations, with particular emphasis on translations and dilations of the graphs of logarithmic and exponential functions. As part of this investigation, they examine...
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Bean Counting
Why do I have to do bean counting if I'm not going to become an accountant? The 24th installment of a 35-part module has the class conducting experiments using beans to collect data. Learners use exponential functions to model this...
EngageNY
Solving Exponential Equations
Use the resource to teach methods for solving exponential equations. Scholars solve exponential equations using logarithms in the twenty-fifth installment of a 35-part module. Equations of the form ab^(ct) = d and f(x) = g(x) are...
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Wishful Thinking—Does Linearity Hold? (Part 1)
Not all linear functions are linear transformations — show your class the difference. The first lesson in a unit on linear transformations and complex numbers that spans 32 segments introduces the concept of linear transformations and...
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Representing Reflections with Transformations
In the 16th lesson in the series of 32 the class uses the concept of complex multiplication to build a transformation in order to reflect across a given line in the complex plane. The lesson breaks the process of reflecting across a line...
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The Geometric Effect of Multiplying by a Reciprocal
Class members perform complex operations on a plane in the 17th segment in the 32-part series. Learners first verify that multiplication by the reciprocal does the same geometrically as it does algebraically. The class then circles back...
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Modeling Video Game Motion with Matrices 2
The second day of a two-part instructional activity on motion introduces the class to circular motion. Pupils learn how to incorporate a time parameter into the rotational matrix transformations they already know. The 24th installment in...
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Matrix Multiplication and Addition
To commute or not to commute, that is the question. The 26th segment in a 32-segment instructional activity focuses on the effect of performing one transformation after another one. The pupils develop the procedure in order to multiply...
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Vectors and the Equation of a Line
Represent linear equations in both two and three dimensions using parametric equations. Learners write parametric equations for linear equations in both two and three variables. They graph and convert the parametric equations to...
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Correspondence and Transformations
Looking for a strategy to organize the information related to transformations? The materials ask pupils to identify a sequence of rigid transformations, identify corresponding angles and sides, and write a congruence statement. They...
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Characterize Points on a Perpendicular Bisector
Learn transformations through constructions! Pupils use perpendicular bisectors to understand the movement of a reflection and rotation. They discover that the perpendicular bisector(s) determine the line of reflection and the...
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The General Multiplication Rule
In the first installment of a 21-part module, scholars build on previous understandings of probability to develop the multiplication rule for independent and dependent events. They use the rule to solve contextual problems.
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Special Triangles and the Unit Circle
Calculate exact trigonometric values using the angles of special right triangles. Beginning with a review of the unit circle and trigonometric functions, class members use their knowledge of special right triangles to find the value...
EngageNY
Putting the Law of Cosines and the Law of Sines to Use
Use the Law of Cosines and the Law of Sines to solve problems using the sums of vectors. Pupils work on several different types of real-world problems that can be modeled using triangles with three known measurements. In the process,...
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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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First Consequences of FTS
Challenge the young mathematicians to find the exact coordinates of a dilated point. The fifth segment in a 16-part series introduces the class to the converse of the Fundamental Theorem of Similarity. Scholars use the theorem to...
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More About Similar Triangles
Determine whether two triangles are similar. The lesson presents opportunities for pupils to find the criterion needed to show that two triangles are similar. Scholars use the definition of similarity to find any missing side...