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
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.
Illustrative Mathematics
As the Wheel Turns
Determine the location of a point on a moving wheel. The task challenges groups to determine the horizontal and vertical locations of a point on the edge of wheel that is moving. Teams first determine a function that will model the...
National External Diploma Program Council
Measuring in Metrics
Practice measuring skills with a 10-question worksheet that challenges scholars to measure lines using centimeters and inches.
PBL Pathways
Cell Phones
Calling all subscribers! Model revenue based on individual cell phone subscribers. The project-based learning activity presents a challenge to scholars from a cell phone company. Individuals model data provided to them from the company...
Teacher's Corner
Brandon's Baseball Collection
Ten questions make up a worksheet that challenges baseball enthusiasts to read a graph then answer questions pertaining to the data's range, mean, median, and mode.
101 Questions
Apple Mothership
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.
101 Questions
Can-struction
Can you solve it?! A New York City art challenge involves making sculptures from cans. The task is to determine the number of cans used in the engineering award-winning sculpture. Scholars consider the patterns in the different layers to...
Kenan Fellows
Using Motion Sensors to Explore Graph Sketching
Get moving to a better understanding of graphs of derivatives. Using motion sensors, scholars vary their velocities to create graphs of the first derivative of a function. The activity challenges groups to first create a script of the...
101 Questions
Square Partitions
Challenge your classes while developing their problem-solving skills. A square is divided neatly into four equal triangles by its diagonals until one diagonal is moved from a vertex to the midpoint of one side. Now, scholars must devise...
Concord Consortium
Betweenness III
Don't let a little challenge get between your pupils and their learning! Scholars compare two absolute value functions to recognize patterns and use them to build their own functions with outputs that are between the given. They then...
Concord Consortium
Betweenness IV
Challenge your classes to think between the curves. Given two function formed by the combination of two exponential functions, individuals must write three functions in which all values would lie between the given. The question is...
CCSS Math Activities
Picking Apples
Pick the resource while it's ripe. A performance task challenges young mathematicians to consider the costs of apple picking. They compare the costs for two different orchards for different situations.
Concord Consortium
You Are What You Drive
Grab the wheel in learning about functions. A short performance task challenges young mathematicians to develop a function that describes the cars eight people drive. They consider whether the inverse of the function exists. If not, they...
Concord Consortium
Build a Box
Strive for gold with an informative resource. A short task challenges learners to investigate the thickness of a box made from a given volume of gold. The box must have specific dimensions, so setting up and solving a literal equation is...
Concord Consortium
Cheetah's Lunch
Run like a cheetah. A performance task challenges pupils to solve several different problems involving the speed of a cheetah. Given information for scenarios where the cheetah chases its prey, they determine if the big cat is fast enough.
Concord Consortium
Functions by the Slice
Piece by piece ... dismantling a function can highlight interesting patterns. The task asks learners to slice functions in sections with the same vertical change. They then recreate the graph with these slices positioned horizontally....
Concord Consortium
Sum and Product
From linear to quadratic with a simple operation. An exploratory lesson challenges learners to find two linear functions that, when multiplied, produce a given parabola. The task includes the graph of the sum of the functions as well as...
College Board
So Much Data, So Little Time
Organizing data in a statistics class is often a challenge. A veteran statistics teacher shares data organization tips in a lesson resource. The instructor shows how to group data to link to individual calculators in a more efficient...
California Education Partners
Fun on the Farm
Let imaginations run wild as participants design animal pens. A performance task challenges young mathematicians to determine the perimeter or a missing side length of different animal pens. They then design pens that meet given...
California Education Partners
Window Washers
Aim high with a task on window washers. An assessment task challenges learners to determine the number of windows two people wash. They do this using a given number of window rows on each side of a building. In addition, they find the...
Pace University
Grades 9-10 Algebra: Graphic Quadratics on the Coordinate Plane
Find quadratics in the world. Learners select ways to compare and contrast linear and quadratic functions and how to demonstrate knowledge of parabolas in the world. Teachers assign a third task challenging individuals to find equations...
ABCya
Hanukkah Gelt Hunt
A Hanukkah-themed learning game challenges players to find hidden gelt. Scholars examine festive pictures to locate hard-to-see gelt—chocolate coins— and click on them to earn points before the timer runs out. Levels become increasingly...
ABCya
Christmas Present Hunt
An interactive game of hidden pictures challenges scholars to locate hard-to-find gift boxes. The number of presents increases and becomes harder to find as levels progress. A joyful reindeer praises players for a job well done.