Do bigger sails mean that the sailboat goes faster? Middle and high schoolers compare sailboats, and learn that simply calculating sail area is not enough. A slideshow presentation demonstrates how to calculate the Sail...

Roll with your class into the idea of conservation of energy. Pupils use a roller coaster track to collect data to reinforce the concept of conservation of energy and the influence of friction. Class members then create a graph from...

Develop an awareness of the exam. Pupils and teachers use the six release free-response questions to see how the exam covers topics. The questions are divided among calculator and non-calculator items. Scholars see the importance of...

How much work does it take to lift a bucket? An interactive presents a problem of lifting a bucket from the ground to the top of a building. Using their knowledge about work and integrals, pupils calculate the amount of work required to...

How many of the pupils at your school think selling soda would be a good idea? Show learners how to develop a study to answer questions like these! The activity explores the meaning of a population versus a sample and how to interpret...

Climb up the staircase of engineering knowledge. After watching a video of a carpenter measuring out steps for a set of stairs, pupils learn about the terminology and regulations involving stairs. They see how to use a rule of thumb when...

Use a triangle area formula that works when the height is unknown. The eighth installment in a 16-part series on trigonometry revisits the trigonometric triangle area formula that previously was shown to work with the acute triangles....

What does dropping a ball look like as a graph? An engaging activity asks learners to record a video of dropping a ball and uploading the video to software for analysis. They compare the position of the ball to time and calculate the...

Maximizing resources is essential to productivity. Class members complete an activity to show how math can help in the process. Using a piece of construction paper, learners construct a box with the maximum volume. Ultimately, they...

Time to show what you know about functions! The review concludes a series of nine lessons on the basics of functions. The problems included are modeled from the previous lessons. Pupils determine if a table represents a function,...

Tables are useful for more than just eating. Learners use tables to organize data and calculate probabilities and conditional probabilities. 

We know that sample data varies — it's time to quantify that variability! After calculating a sample mean, pupils calculate the margin of error. They repeat the process with a greater number of sample means and compare the results.

Provide students with the skill for how to examine algebraic and graphical approaches to solving radical equations. Learners solve various radical equations involving square root and cube root expressions. They first solve...

Unlike mathematics, statistics comes with a context. The author reminds teachers that data analysis involves using the context to make sense of the numbers. The article stresses good communication skills by highlighting the scoring...

Determine the power hog in the house. Pupils learn the difference between power and energy before participating in a hands-on activity. Using a power meter, pairs measure the actual power used for several household devices, estimate the...

Explore lines tangent to a circle. In this math lesson, students manipulate circles and lines on a TI calculator. They draw a circle  and analyze perpendicular lines intersecting the circle in only one place. This activity works...

How do you find the area of an irregular shape? Class members calculate the area of an irregular shape by finding the area of a random sampling of the shape. Individuals then utilize a confidence interval to improve accuracy and use a...

Explore optics using an inquiry-based experimental approach! Young scholars use a set of materials to design and build a unit capable of focusing a beam of light. They experiment with different lenses to determine the best approach to...

How can you safely model exponential growth and decay? A hands-on activity uses candies to model not only exponential decay, but also exponential growth. Exponential equations are fitted by hand and by use of a calculator...

Cool it! A virtual lab has users conduct an experiment to find the specific heat capacity for an unknown substance. The substance is an engine coolant, and calculating the specific heat capacity lets learners determine if it is a better...

Circles are the foundation of many geometric concepts and extensions - a point that is thoroughly driven home in this extensive unit. Fundamental properties of circles are investigated (including sector area, angle measure, and...

Using the subscriber website Explorelearning.com, young mathematicians observe changes in the slope and y-intercept and their effect on the graph of lines. This activity helps students develop an intuitive sense of the connection between...

The original drawing is eight units — how big is the scale drawing? Classmates determine the scale percent between a scale drawing and an object to calculate the length of a portion of the object. They use the percent equation to find...

Investigate the Remainder Theorem in this algebra lesson. Explore the relationship between the remainders of polynomial division and the function. Each of the four problems gets progressively more complicated. This might be a great...