Sometimes dealing with decimals is so much easier than dealing with fractions. The ninth lesson in a 21-part module has the class consider situations when it might be easier to add or subtract fractions by first converting to...

How is sea coral like a thermometer? Part three of a six-part series from NOAA describes how oceanographers can use coral growth to estimate water temperature over time. Life science pupils manipulate data to determine the age of corals...

Estimate the value of one of the most famous irrational numbers. The hands-on instructional activity instructs classmates to measure the circumference and diameters of circles using yarn. The ratio of these quantities defines pi.

Try out a resource using triangles to estimate radicals. An interactive app allows learners to approximate some irrational numbers involving square roots. They find the two consecutive numbers that an irrational number lies between...

Distance estimates would be easy if the world were a grid. Scholars work to determine the distance between two structures using a coordinate plane. As an introduction, the lesson focuses on vertical and horizontal distances.

Ice cores provide scientists with knowledge of historic melt layers, air temperatures, greenhouse gases, and climate stability. Scholars work in groups to build layers representing snow and ice over thousands of years. Then, groups...

What does it mean to take the mean of the mean? An easy-to-use interactive has users adjust the mean ages of different samples. Finding the average of these sample means gives an estimate of the population mean.

Estimating a square root is as easy as evaluating a linear equation. Using the derivative of the square root function, pupils calculate an estimation of square roots. Class members determine the equation of the tangent line at the value...

When are trapezoids better than rectangles? Using trapezoids pupils approximate the area of fabric defined by a function. Just like with rectangles, learners realize the more trapezoids the more accurate the approximation. Scholars use...

Challenge your class to use straight lines when estimating the length of a curve. An engaging interactive allows individuals to place line segments one after another along the arc. Learners determine that the more lines used, the better...

There's no need to have friction among instructors regarding the resource. Pupils investigate how marbles and coins slide along different surfaces which gives them information to estimate coefficients of friction.

If you've always wanted to know the perimeter of the state of Oklahoma, now's your chance. A measuring activity has learners use three different sticks to estimate the perimeter of the state. Along the way, they learn how convergent and...

Not too much, not too little, but just right in the middle. Using researched census population data, young statisticians plot population data over time. They develop an idea of midpoints to estimate populations for years that census data...

Do you separate your trail mix before eating it? Then you've been separating mixtures your whole life! Scholars model a contaminated soil sample using trail mix and estimate the percentage of each component. They consider how to clean up...

A brilliant resource is at your disposal. Future consumers investigate and discuss an electric bill. Given only partial information, they estimate the monthly bill. They then consider how tiered pricing will affect the bill.

Analyze patterns in a circular arrangement. After using a geometric construction to complete a circle, learners use proportional reasoning to make predictions. By determining the length of an arc built from suitcases, they estimate the...

Explore Apple's spaceship office building. Built in the shape of a circle, the office building offers a unique floor plan challenge. Young scholars use the dimensions of the building to estimate the square footage for each employee. 

Healthy invertebrates mean healthy ponds. An outdoor activity has scholars collect samples of invertebrates from local lakes or ponds. They identify and count different species and use the information to estimate the level of pollution...

Chart your way to an understanding of nanoscale. Using a Google map, learners estimate a radius around their location of 1,000 and 1,000,000 meters. Predicting what 1,000,000,000 meters would look like takes them off the charts!...

Block play can teach children about gravity, physics, and spatial relationships. A hands-on lesson incorporates these concepts with an activity in which learners examine the relationship between levels in a pile. Scholars begin to...

This resource will blow your mind! Young mathematicians estimate the rate of volcanic lava flow by watching a video. They apply the rate formula to determine how long it would take the lava to reach a city. Let's hope everyone gets out...

Can we break the record? Groups use provided data detailing the number of visitors to a blog to determine if the number of blog views breaks the previous record. They must take rates into consideration to make their estimates—a great...

It'll take as long as it'll take. After watching a short video clip of someone moving a lawn as well as a running stopwatch, pupils estimate how long it would take to mow the entire lawn. Provided diagrams show the dimensions of the lawn...

Scholars shake their way to understanding half-life with the help of candy. They observe and record which side candy lands on to graph the exponential decay in the fifth lesson plan of seven integrating chemistry and algebra. Combining...