Gain a little interest in functions with a real-life task. Young scholars analyze home loan data with a geometric sequence and series. They use the models to make predictions about the total loan payments at certain intervals in a...

Fall back and slow down. The fourth lesson in a six-part series on air traffic control leads the class to find the difference in distance traveled based upon the difference in speed. Pupils work through a problem related to walking...

It's just a sign of the times. Given a billboard with distances and travel times to two different interstate highway junctions, learners determine the speed limit. They must incorporate the concepts of distance, rate, and time with that...

Modeling population growth gives learners an opportunity to experiment with real data. Comparing the growth rates in this real-life task strengthens learners' understanding that exponential functions change by equal factors over equal...

One step at a time! A seemingly linear relationship becomes an entirely new type of function. Young scholars build their understanding of step functions by completing a three-stage activity that incorporates multiple representations of...

It's shark week! In this problem, young mathematically minded marine biologists need to study the fish population by analyzing data over time. The emphasis is on understanding the average rate of change of the population and drawing...

The single question in this activity has multiple ways to be solved. Two boys ran a mile. Their times were similar, except one time was a fraction of the other. Who ran faster? In demonstrating the answer to this problem, upper graders...

Your algebra learners make predictions using the concepts of a linear model from real-life data given in table form. Learners analyze and discuss solutions without having to write a linear equation.

Your young population scientists analyze a table of values, write a model to represent the real life data, finish the table of data and predict future populations in a collaborative, real-life activity.

Your young airplane enthusiasts will enjoy this collaborative task of graphing an airplane's distance from the ground as it flies in a perfect circle. They will discover that they have graphed a sinusoidal function that comes from the...

Your archaeologists begin this task with a table of values to estimate the time passed based on the half-life of Carbon 14 remaining in a plant. They then move on to find when a specific amount of Carbon 14 is present in the same plant,...

At the end of this activity, your number crunchers will have a better understanding as to how to describe graphs of velocity versus time and distance versus time. It is easy for learners to misinterpret graphs of velocity, so have them...

Introduce the concept of exponential functions with an activity that extends the definition of exponents to include rational values. Start with a doubling function at integer values of time, then expand table to include frational time...

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...

Here is an activity that is intended to highlight a very important issue about precision in reporting and understanding statements in a realistic scientific context. Discuss different ways of reporting the half life of Carbon 14...

For this secondary mathematics learning exercise, high schoolers collect data based on a person’s motion. From this data, students create graphs comparing displacement, velocity, and acceleration to time. The five-page learning exercise...

This comprehensive resource applies simultaneous equations to a real-life problem. Though the commentary starts with a graph, some home consumers may choose to begin with a table. A graph does aid learners to visualize the shift of one...

Using a number line, pupils are asked to identify which of four fractions is closest to one half. Includes a single problem that can serve as a practice problem or formative assessment for 3rd or 4th graders learning to partition number...

Understanding where to place a fraction on a number line is key to understanding fractions as numbers. This activity focuses on locating fractions less than one. Learners need to partition the line into the correct number of equal sized...