Intricate details of a modern technology that many of us take for granted in our phones, computers (and some cars) are laid bare in a short but deeply investigative activity. The math behind a seemingly simple GPS device...

Geometry meets earth science as high schoolers investigate the cause and features of the four seasons. The effects of Earth's axis tilt features prominently, along with both the rotation of the earth about the axis and its orbit...

Don't let the learning in your classroom get jammed up! Intrigue your scholars with an open-ended scenario to explore. A video presentation shows a challenging stretch of road that is susceptible to traffic jams. The task is to determine...

A quick discussion question that brings some collaboration into your classroom will allow your thinkers to make a decision about sampling. Mr. Briggs wants to know if the results from his class are a valuable comparison to the entire...

This is great go-to activity for those spring or fall days when the weather beckons your geometry class outside. Learners start with a small tree, devising strategies to accurately estimate the leaf count. They must then tackle the...

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).

Challenge the addition skills of young learners with this open-ended math problem. The task is simple, get from start to finish by connecting a series of three numbers. The trick is that the sum of the numbers must be less than...

A plethora of activities make up a cross curricular choice page filled with math games—relay races, dice, and crossword puzzles—a survey challenge equipped with data organization, graphing, a quicksand recipe, Hula-Hoop activity to...

So many times the characteristics of triangles are presented as a vocabulary-type of lesson, but in this activity they are key to unraveling a proof. A unique attack on proving that an inscribed angle that subtends a diameter must be a...

Solve a real-life problem using function-building skills. Presented with an open-ended question, scholars complete a checklist to create and justify a solution in an interesting algebra project. The checklist asks for justifications of...

A deceptively simple question setup leads to a number of attack methods and a surprisingly sophisticated solution set in this open-ended problem. Young geometers of different strengths can go about defining the solutions graphically,...

One of the hardest skills for many young geometers to grasp is to move beyond just declaring obvious things true, and really returning to fundamental principles for proof. This brief exercise stretches those proving muscles as the...

Juice up your lessons with an open-ended resource. Scholars must determine how many oranges it takes to fill a container with juice. They use information presented in a video and as images to find the solution. 

Long considered the symbol of safe harbor and steadfast waiting, the lighthouse gets a mathematical treatment. The straightforward question of distance to the horizon is carefully presented, followed by a look into the...

Geometric volume calculations are brought into the real world in a quick set of application problems. Learners are asked to help a patient figure out how to drink a prescribed amount of water both at work and at home. This activity...

Gaining practice in translating a verbal description into a diagram and then an equation is the real point of this similar triangles exercise. Once the diagram is drawn, multiple methods are provided to reach the conclusion. An effective...

You don't want to be short bananas when making bread. Scholars use their math skills to make sure there are enough bananas to go around. Using measurements given in a recipe, they must determine how many bananas they need to increase the...

In an open-ended problem, learners calculate costs involved in driving an ice cream van. Is it better to park in one place or drive through different neighborhoods? Learners look at these and other factors and must make reasonable...

Introduce young mathematicians to concepts of financial literacy with this open-ended word problem. With seven dollars to spend during field day and given a list of available items and their prices, children must determine how they want...

Here is a project that instructs young bakers to calculate the ingredients needed for a cookie bake sale. The catch is that the ingredients for 32 cookies is given; however, pupils must figure out the amounts needed for 12 and 60...

Here's a new meaning to the expression throwing away money...a carpet of coins! An intriguing lesson requires calculations to determine the coin that would be the cheapest option, but it's a little tricky. The cost of the coin...

Every pupil with a sweet tooth will be clamoring for this lab and analysis, particularly when they're allowed to eat the results! Volume and surface area formulas for cones are developed from models, and then extended to the printing of...

This is an intriguing problem that brings together real-world data, technology, and mathematical problem solving. If visibility wasn't an issue, could you see from the highest point in the lower 48 states, Mt. Whitney, to the lowest...

Can survival rates on the Titanic be explained by the "women and children first" policy or did rescue procedures favor the wealthy? Use actual historical data to explore conditional probability and independent events with your class....